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From: koll@dragon.nec.com (Michael Goldman)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: 64-bits, How many years?
Message-ID: <1991Mar20.162907.22485@sj.nec.com>
Date: 20 Mar 91 16:29:07 GMT
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 Herman Rubin was kind enough to dignify my meanderings on electron states
mapping to numbers resulting in molecule-sized CPUs with the thought that
the Uncertainty Principle ("It's 10 femtoseconds O'clock! Do you know where
your electron is?") would preclude combining high switching speeds with
precision.

 All of which is true (as far as current theory goes), but the energy levels
 of valence electrons are quantized so that your precision would only have
 to be such that the photon sent is >= to the quantum necessary to jump to
 the next higher energy level and < that needed to go to the level above that.
 One could simplify it by having only 2 states per atom - base energy level = 0
 and above base level = 1.  While the speed would be limited, it would be orders
 of magnitude greater than the current solid state devices which rely on masses
 of electrons creeping over energy barriers.  As for the point of state decay,
 this would map to the capacitor leakage of RAMs and require refreshing
 periodically.  The same old problems but on a much smaller and faster scale.
 
 But maybe you still don't like this.  How about another research area I read
 of some months ago, of using the relative positions of nodes on a long organic
 molecules to represent bits.  The simplest case would be 2 atoms sticking out
 on a small chain like watch hands (watch hands? boy, does that date me).
 Each 90 degree relative position could be distinguished so that you could
 count to 4 on each 2 molecule chain.  This would lend a whole new meaning
 to the term computer virus!