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Nanocomputing

By Ravin
Basics

Nanotechnology is a group of sciences
dealing with nanometre-scale devices and
particles

One nanometre is 0.000000001 of a metre

Nanometre-scale usually indicates
measurements up to a few hundred
nanometres

Nanocomputing deals with nanometre-
scale computers
Old school

Colossus is usually
thought of as the
first modern
computer

It used vacuum
tubes, thyratrons
and
photomultipliers

Not that powerful
by today’s
standards
The next generation


There are currently no commercially
available nanocomputers but many
organisations are developing them


Nanocomputers have many uses, both
as products and as part of other
nanotechnologies such as bio-implants
and the proposed Starseed launcher
Great expectations?

In 2000, IBM announced a technique for


turning an iron-platinum alloy into the
magnetic equivalent of gold
This could have led to smaller, better hard
drives that work more efficiently than
traditional cobalt-platinum methods
Where is it?
Nanotechnology isn’t so easy to translate
from a laboratory to the real world
Why bother?

Nanocomputing will change the
computing industry in many ways

Existing technologies, like memory and
backing storage, will become even more
plentiful than they already are

New technologies will be created to replace
obsolete machines

New standards and architectures will be
needed to make use of the new systems
when they are created

All of this requires enormous effort and
resources. So why bother?
Potential

The simple answer is that it should be
worth it

Nanocomputers could be small enough to
fit in a jacket pocket and still have
enough storage to fit all of today’s
Internet and more

The same computer would have
processing capabilities surpassing today’s
supercomputers by far

Not for at least 15 years, though
Is it really worth it?

Huge processing power and massive
backing storage in a tiny box

Guaranteed to be revolutionary and
guaranteed to open up new technologies
and allow existing ones to greatly
improve

At least a decade away, probably much
more

Both hardware and software require a
great deal of time and effort to develop
Questions?

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