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Nanomagnets Could Replace Transistors in Microprocessors

Posted by Unknown on from the remember-when-moore's-law-failed dept.

redwolfe7707 writes "Computers today move electrons, using lots of energy in the process. A new report out of UC Berkeley shows that doing computing with nano magnetic domains could reduce the energy consumption by a factor of a million." As usual, the factor of a million would be in the ideal case and is close to the minimum permitted by the universe.

54 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Dammit by LordKaT · · Score: 4, Funny

    Goddamn Universe! Stop treating us like we're kids! We want over a million factor reduction in our power usage! Imma go in a corner and cry :'(

    1. Re:Dammit by dainbug · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      De-Regulate!

    2. Re:Dammit by gyroidben · · Score: 1

      In the universe's defense, that limit does not apply to reversible computing. As long as your logic gates aren't destroying any information then there is in principle no minimum energy requirement.

    3. Re:Dammit by White+Flame · · Score: 1

      Too bad physical reversible computing hardware isn't practical. You still need non-reversible guts outside of it to track state, and reversible hardware typically can't do things like arbitrary-length loops.

  2. As usual by Ltap · · Score: 1

    It's only 5 years away!

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    1. Re:As usual by EraserMouseMan · · Score: 2

      I'm sure the start-up who wrote up the amazing summary and want investors' money also want us to believe that traditional memory will be all but dead when this comes to market. And that this is a total game changer for the entire memory industry. "Disruptive Technology" blah blah blah...

    2. Re:As usual by gstoddart · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm sure the start-up who wrote up the amazing summary and want investors' money also want us to believe that traditional memory will be all but dead when this comes to market. And that this is a total game changer for the entire memory industry. "Disruptive Technology" blah blah blah...

      I think if you came out with technology using one million times less energy, all of that would be true, no? Hell, even a factor of 100 or 1000 I should think would be a rather huge gain.

      Bring on the 5v supercomputer!

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    3. Re:As usual by flibbidyfloo · · Score: 1

      It's only 5 years away!

      So we should have it 5 years before fusion power!

    4. Re:As usual by CharlyFoxtrot · · Score: 1

      It's called venture capital for a reason.

      venture (noun) : an undertaking involving chance, risk, or danger; especially : a speculative business enterprise

      --
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    5. Re:As usual by d4fseeker · · Score: 2

      You would need very thick layers and cables of copper at 5v, but it's feasible. I guess you mean 5VA, that would be a real achievement ;)

    6. Re:As usual by arisvega · · Score: 1

      and as usual, another buzzword-using ad from one of "The Big Universities". Being from one, though, apparently allows for the publication of back-of-the-envelope calculations papers, while the rest have to submit and correct ad infinitum.

      It is like the US Patent Office and Amazon: if you work with amazon and file a patent it gets processed immediately no matter what- else, go queue up with the rest of the peasants.

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    7. Re:As usual by arisvega · · Score: 1

      So we should have it 5 years before fusion power!

      And only 10 years before flying cars!

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    8. Re:As usual by arisvega · · Score: 1

      And only 10 years before flying cars!

      And a mere 15 years before the first american on Mars

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    9. Re:As usual by drooling-dog · · Score: 1

      Of course we all know that computing technology is static and changes only at geologic time scales. Don't hold your breath waiting for anything new.

    10. Re:As usual by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      You would need very thick layers and cables of copper at 5v, but it's feasible. I guess you mean 5VA, that would be a real achievement ;)

      Yeah ... this is the part where I admit I know exceedingly little about the physical aspects of electronics other than my high school physics, which was over two decades ago. :-P

      So ... if you say so, then that must have been what I meant. ;-)

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    11. Re:As usual by CannonballHead · · Score: 1

      The USPO doesn't have queues. We have lines. ;)

    12. Re:As usual by Nethemas+the+Great · · Score: 1

      You people make me sad. :'(

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    13. Re:As usual by thunderclap · · Score: 1

      http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/07/06/0536215/DOT-Exempts-Maker-of-Flying-Car-From-Road-Vehicle-Safety-Rules?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+(Slashdot)
      Umm, Flying cars are now.

    14. Re:As usual by marcosdumay · · Score: 1

      Anybody promissing to go from idea to widespread maket in less than 14 years in computing technology (by that I mean hardware manufacturing) is a liar.

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    15. Re:As usual by PhxBlue · · Score: 2

      Bring on the 5v supercomputer!

      Pah. Wake me when they get the requirement down to 1.1 volts. I'm not going to be happy until my supercomputer can fit into a potato!

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    16. Re:As usual by IrquiM · · Score: 1

      Stop ruining it with facts!

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    17. Re:As usual by arisvega · · Score: 1

      Oh yea, you can't throw a stone without hitting a dozen of the damn things.

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  3. A problem... by ijakings · · Score: 3, Funny

    Isnt it going to be more difficult to create a microprocessor with magnets? I mean nobody knows how they work...

    1. Re:A problem... by snspdaarf · · Score: 1

      No, no, no. Everyone knows how magnets work (also microwave ovens), it's non-fat dairy creamer than nobody know how works.

      --
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    2. Re:A problem... by robot_love · · Score: 1

      It sounds awesome. Now, by holding a cell phone next to your ear it will make you healthy instead of giving you cancer!

      --
      .there is enough of everything for everyone.
    3. Re:A problem... by ijakings · · Score: 1

      Crème fraiche?

  4. Technology evolves by Biggseye · · Score: 1

    This is an interesting development. If it works out, great. If it does not work out, they learn from the failure. All technology must by its nature evolve or become outmoded and worthless. As we know Computers are the poster child for technology evolution. Many more attempts to approve computers, faster, more memory, faster disks, etc have failed then succeeded. To me it does not matter if it works, IT would be nice if it did, but it is not earth shaking if it fails.

  5. Fucking Nanomagnets. by Seumas · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How do they work?

  6. Re:uhm.. by snspdaarf · · Score: 1

    Saltpeter?

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  7. Re:uhm.. by dainbug · · Score: 1

    With a BIGGER magnet! of course.

  8. Yawn by davegravy · · Score: 1

    devices become more susceptible to random fluctuations from thermal effects, stray electromagnetic fields and other kinds of noise

    Yes, I'm imagining a big sticker on my new magnetronic iphone, depicting a big horseshoe magnet with a diagonal line through it. Airport security suddenly has to have a separate X-ray-less inspection line for portable magnetronics.

    At the moment, electrical currents are used to generate a magnetic field to erase or flip the polarity of nanomagnets, which dissipates a lot of energy. Ideally, new materials will make electrical currents unnecessary, except perhaps for relaying information from one chip to another

    Nanomagnets are hardly impressive, everything is being made "nano" these days.
    Efficient and reliable CONTROL of magnetic fields (e.g without moving electrons in an electromagnet) seems to be the critical missing piece to this puzzle.

    1. Re:Yawn by arisvega · · Score: 1

      Nanomagnets are hardly impressive, everything is being made "nano" these days. Efficient and reliable CONTROL of magnetic fields (e.g without moving electrons in an electromagnet) seems to be the critical missing piece to this puzzle.

      Exactly! Unless your back-of-the-envelope calculations are affiliated with one of MIT, Berkeley or Yale, in which case they are immediately eligible for publication.

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  9. Re:Small print: only theoretical by arisvega · · Score: 1

    Oh no Jack I am not clicking that

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  10. Re:Small print: only theoretical by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

    For those of us who don't speak 4Chan, what does 'oldfag' mean? You're user id is over a million, so you've not exactly been here for a long time, and the grandparent has been posting goatse links (including two others in this story) like that for months, so if you clicked on it then I can only assume 'oldfag' means 'idiot'.

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  11. But how will information be transmitted? by Viol8 · · Score: 1

    Ok , data could be stored as a magnetic alignment, but how do you get that information from one side of the chip to the other when you need to actually use it? You can't transmit magnetism down a wire and if you use electrons then you're still going to have a large amount of wasted energy.

    1. Re:But how will information be transmitted? by Nethemas+the+Great · · Score: 1

      I think they were going for the calculate then transmit idea. That means only going in/out require the electrons as opposed to the present, in/out and calculate. The overwhelming majority of electrons suffer their fate during the calculate portion. Are we going to get the napkin research results hinted at? No. But if we can achieve even an order of magnitude reduction in power costs it's still "game changing" significant.

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    2. Re:But how will information be transmitted? by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 1

      "You can't transmit magnetism down a wire" -- maybe you should look at racetrack memory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racetrack_memory).

      Or perhaps this old thing ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_memory

      Leaping into the 1970's here. Should we have another academic to "invent" plated-wire memory next?

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  12. How long by xlovenuggetx · · Score: 1

    I like to imagine that I stay informed on science/tech stories and it seems like everyday I read about new tech and innovations.... but they never seem to be implemented in a desirable timeline. How come the big power consumers like Google, IBM and Microsoft haven't thrown loads of cash into these types of innovations? Early investments would certainly pay off in the long run- a million fold in energy efficiancy isn't good enough I guess.

    1. Re:How long by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      eh?, IBM is of course doing massive amounts of research on lower power computation devices, one of the global leaders in the field

  13. Re:Small print: only theoretical by Canazza · · Score: 1

    Well, my User ID is well over the 1 million too (and about 300k more than Turtles) and I've been here for a couple of years. I'd hardly consider that an 'oldfag' though.
    I came here just as /. started to decline and it's been long enough for me to notice a marked difference and to be annoyed about it, so maybe that's his definition of an 'oldfag' - been here long enough to feel entitled to complain about the decline in quality, yet do nothing about it.

    --
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  14. Speed? by Twinbee · · Score: 1

    I see no mention of CPU speed. I'm guessing it wouldn't be that great.

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    1. Re:Speed? by singer-scientist · · Score: 1

      I see no mention of CPU speed. I'm guessing it wouldn't be that great.

      Yes, there are other limits to computing.

      Specifically the energy/time version of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. At the limit of observability, if you reduce the energy, then you increase the time. So, measurable low-energy operations are going to take a relatively long time to complete.

  15. bullshit, well known by rubycodez · · Score: 1

    they work by the exchange of photons created and absorbed by accelerating charges.

  16. Re:uhm.. by rubycodez · · Score: 1

    heat it above its curie temperature

  17. Complex devices yet? by michael_cain · · Score: 1

    I know people have demonstrated magnetic domain nand and nor gates, which is theoretically sufficient to build anything. Has anyone demonstrated more complex devices? A synchronous shift register? An adder? Something that demonstrates that linking many gates together is viable?

  18. In other news... by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 1

    Reality hacked by Anonymous. Universe found to be resting on back of large turtle. Film at 11:00.

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    1. Re:In other news... by thunderclap · · Score: 1

      OMG, There are turtles all the way down!

    2. Re:In other news... by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 2

      Reports have started to trickle in from outlying areas stating that "The turtle stands on its own back." The turtle, in an exclusive interview with our reporters, refused to confirm or deny this, stating that it was a "personal" matter and that his first obligation was to shield his family of child universes from embarrassment.

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  19. That's easy! by Pope · · Score: 1

    Fucking nanomiracles.

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    1. Re:That's easy! by An+ominous+Cow+art · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't that be under the jurisdiction of the nanoPope?

  20. Re:Small print: only theoretical by ElectricTurtle · · Score: 1

    In the first place, I mean 'oldfag' in the 4chan sense, as in I've been around 4chan and before that SomethingAwful when both sites were new, and I'm proud of not having any life to speak of. Further, although my /. UID is not low, that's because I only signed up when I saw there were going to be parties for the 10th Anniversary and I wanted to go. I'd been lurking /. since 1998.

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  21. Re:Small print: only theoretical by rednip · · Score: 1

    I came here just as /. started to decline...

    yea, me too.

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  22. Re:Small print: only theoretical by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1

    No, I did.

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  23. Does this mean... by ndixon · · Score: 1

    ... I could get a smartphone that will last a whole week on a charge?

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