A Computer That Operates On Water Droplets

Okian Warrior notes a Stanford project to build a basic computer that operates on water droplets. One of its creators, Manu Prakash, says the goal is not to compete with digital computers for manipulating data (though they can theoretically perform all of the same computations). Instead, "Our goal is to build a completely new class of computers that can precisely control and manipulate physical matter. Imagine if when you run a set of computations that not only information is processed but physical matter is algorithmically manipulated as well." The biggest obstacle in creating the water computer was figuring out a way to develop a clock mechanism. The team decided to use a rotating magnetic field, which is both precise and easy to control. To get it to interact with the water, they put arrays of tiny iron bars on glass slides, and then added a layer of oil, and finally another glass slide. Magnetized water droplets are injected into this scaffolding, and the magnetic field can then easily push them along paths created by the iron. "It's about manipulating matter faster," Prakash said.

Comments

Microfluidics?

[smaddox]

The project looks interesting from an academic perspective, but the stated application to biological microfluidics seems ridiculous when it requires the droplets to be filled with magnetic materials that could potentially compromise any test you might want to perform.

Microfluidic channels are fairly easy to produce using traditional lithography, and a simple water pump produces all of the motion necessary. It's difficult to see how this really improves upon that model.

Re:Microfluidics?

[mlts]

Isn't this something similar to a switching apparatus that Russia was working on, except with switching done by jets of water, where two jets would cancel each other out, creating a zero? I remember reading about half-adders done this way, as well as far more complex hydrofluidic building blocks.

One advantage of this form of switching is that it is EMP-proof (barring a blast that actually causes physical damage), something that has been the Achilles heel of almost all technology made today.

Fluidics was very big some 25 years ago

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Originally fluidics circuits mimicked electronic circuits but all those valves controlling fluid flow were quite cumbersome. They built standard "cells" that would have a large inlet and out let for main "flow" and then additional taps which were controlled by smaller streams of the fluid. There were cells that would do the plumbing of making tap of one cell be the main inflow for another cell etc. They had the equivalents of transistor, one small bias flow controlling a large main flow to either "out/ground" or to tap A etc. They could stack them up to avoid running tubes. They could do what the primitive digital electronic circuits could do. They had built simple ripple counters, and flip flops etc. They are digital circuits, but with "power"! They had enough power to move small actuators. Enough to move baffle doors of air ducts etc. (Quoting from memory of some IEEE spectrum article read some 25 years ago. sorry for the mistakes)

It produced some PhDs and some R&D grants. But never went beyond academic labs. I don't think there was the Big Digital Electronic conspiracy to stymie the upstart competitor. Even their proponents did not really believe it could take on digital electronic circuits.