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posted by n1 on Wednesday June 10 2015, @10:24AM   Printer-friendly
from the not-ip66-rated-apparently dept.

Manu Prakash, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford, and his students have developed a synchronous computer that operates using the unique physics of moving water droplets. Their goal is to design a new class of computers that can precisely control and manipulate physical matter.

[...] "In this work, we finally demonstrate a synchronous, universal droplet logic and control," Prakash said.

Because of its universal nature, the droplet computer can theoretically perform any operation that a conventional electronic computer can crunch, although at significantly slower rates. Prakash and his colleagues, however, have a more ambitious application in mind.

"We already have digital computers to process information. Our goal is not to compete with electronic computers or to operate word processors on this," Prakash said. "Our goal is to build a completely new class of computers that can precisely control and manipulate physical matter. Imagine if when you run a set of computations that not only information is processed but physical matter is algorithmically manipulated as well. We have just made this possible at the mesoscale."


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 10 2015, @11:11AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 10 2015, @11:11AM (#194465)

    well it would be cool if it would allow a "motorless" sun tracker that will keep a solar panel pointed at the moving sun.
    instead of an electrical motor the fluid pressure would facilitate the motion?

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 10 2015, @11:37AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 10 2015, @11:37AM (#194472)

    We could call it a "SunFollower" err. forget it, let's get rid of that 'ol' in there... SunFlower, that's it!