Computer Technology
From Gothpoodle
Computers come in various sizes, from those installed in microbots or brain implants to mainframe supercomputers capable of running powerful AIs. Older computers are based on molecular circuits connected by carbon nanotubes. These circuits use bacteria-derived bacteriorhodopsin or other proteins that undergo fast, predictable chemical changes when illuminated. Stabilized into lattice structures, they create nanoscale optical switching systems with higher information densities than silicon-based electronics. These are coupled with holographic memory and data-storage systems that have the advantage of large capacity and instant data search and retrieval.
Newer computers store information in the form of localized conformation changes or charge separations on a macromolecular framework. A macromolecular memory unit the size of a sugar cube can store terabytes of data. Tiny molecular computers control microbots and are used in bionanomachines.
Quantum computers are the cutting edge of parallel information processing. Quantum computers do calculations using atoms in “up” or “down” spin states to represent bits of information. Due to quantum uncertainty effects, each atom does not simply represent one bit, as in a traditional computer. Instead, each “qubit” can be both up and down at once. This allows it to (in a sense) do all possible calculations at the same time until the act of measuring the qubits stops the calculating process. In practice, quantum computers can solve problems that are otherwise extremely time-consuming. The disadvantage of quantum computers is that they need to be heavily shielded to prevent external radiation from affecting them. The first quantum computers were incredibly bulky and fragile, reminiscent of computers in the 1950s. Newer systems are somewhat more compact, but they remain very heavy and limited to large mainframe devices.
Other forms of information processing and data storage may be on the horizon. Some smaller computers use nanofactured “rod-logic” systems that resemble a microscopic version of Charles Babbage’s original prototype mechanical computer. At the other extreme, Hawking Industries envisions supercomputers utilizing properties of mini black holes or foamed space-time.
