A SIMPLE computer that performs calculations by the molecular equivalent of flicking over a line of dominoes has been built in California. The device represents the ultimate in the computer industry’s ceaseless struggle for miniaturisation.
The molecular computer, developed by Andreas Heinrich and his colleagues at IBM’s Almaden Lab near San Jose, is far tinier than any traditional silicon chip makers will be able to achieve for a long while. “If the density of today’s chips were to continue to double every 2.5 years, it would take 45 years to shrink to this size,” says Heinrich.
His computer is unlike…
