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From: farren@hoptoad.uucp (Mike Farren)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Optical Computing (Not optical communications)
Message-ID: <2063@hoptoad.uucp>
Date: Tue, 28-Apr-87 02:49:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: hoptoad.2063
Posted: Tue Apr 28 02:49:02 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 29-Apr-87 05:38:06 EDT
References: <3560@cbosgd.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: farren@hoptoad.UUCP (Mike Farren)
Organization: Nebula Consultants in San Francisco
Lines: 30

In article <3560@cbosgd.ATT.COM> ian@cbosgd.ATT.COM (Neil Kirby) writes:
>Larr McVoy asks  dan@prarie "..what does optics buy you?"
>
>Optical computing has the potential to buy you a great deal in terms of
>speed.
>[...]
>Optical switching exists in the lab NOW.  As far as when or if it makes
>good computers remains to be seen, but the potential for speed is
>incredible.  

While optical switching exists in the lab, and general-purpose optical
computers are probably some time away, special-purpose equipment which
uses electro-optic technology exists right now, and more is coming.
One example of such technology is the Instantaneous Fast Fourier
Transform box manufactured by Litton/Applied Technology.  How about a
FFT computed in the time it takes a light beam to move one foot?
Also, several efforts are underway to manufacture more generalized
array processors with electro-optics.  One that I know about was set
up to multiply a rather large pair of matrices (I forget just how
large, but on the order of 1K X 1K) in 50ns.  The potential for
serious number-crunchers is immense.




-- 
----------------
                 "... if the church put in half the time on covetousness
Mike Farren      that it does on lust, this would be a better world ..."
hoptoad!farren       Garrison Keillor, "Lake Wobegon Day