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From: jbuck@epimass.UUCP (Joe Buck)
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.lsi
Subject: Re: Josephson Junction computers
Message-ID: <978@epimass.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 16-Mar-87 13:46:38 EST
Article-I.D.: epimass.978
Posted: Mon Mar 16 13:46:38 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Mar-87 02:48:08 EST
References: <8702240351.AA00239@angband.s1.gov> <7718@utzoo.UUCP> <492@cpocd2.UUCP> <1486@vice.TEK.COM>
Reply-To: jbuck@epimass.UUCP (Joe Buck)
Organization: Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, CA
Lines: 25
Keywords: Josephson junction computer superconductor
Summary: High-temperature superconductors may change JJ economics
Xref: mnetor comp.arch:581 comp.lsi:61

In article <1486@vice.TEK.COM> keithl@vice.TEK.COM (Keith Lofstrom) writes:
>[ Lots of neat stuff about Josephson junctions ]

Seems like the newly discovered liquid-nitrogen-temperature
superconductors could change the economics and feasibility for JJ
computers radically.  Anyone know if some of the people who dropped
JJ research (like IBM) are reconsidering?  

>Conclusions:
>   It's a lot of work.  The engineering probably costs more than other
>alternatives such as massive parallelism, which should be developed first.
>But when those schemes hit the wall (and on some problems they will),
>JJs may be the way out.  Don't sell your Niobium mining stock yet :-)

Unfortunately, the new superconductors seem to be rare-earth oxides.
Sorry, niobium fans!  Apparently no one had thought of testing
ceramics for superconductivity before, and now that they have,
there's an explosion going on.

The Japanese have just announced their intention to pour lots of
money into high-temperature superconductor research.
-- 
- Joe Buck 	{hplabs,ihnp4,sun,ames}!oliveb!epimass!jbuck
		seismo!epiwrl!epimass!jbuck  {pesnta,tymix,apple}!epimass!jbuck
  Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, California