Carnal Reason

When most people think of a computer, they think of a device made of solid state electronics. Other substrates are possible, for instance, the remarkable TinkerToy computer (wood) or the Analytical Engine, a brass design destined to fail because the materials and machining technology of its day were not sufficient for its creation. I am reminded of Leonardo’s flying machines, impossible to realize in his day.

We are privileged to live in a time which will see new physical substrates support useful computation. A fascinating and beautiful example is Manu Prakash’s approach, which involves the use of fluidics. Computation is performed using tiny bubbles in immiscible fluids. Consider this summary, so pregnant with unimaginable possibilities.

We have invented a new logic family which implements universal Boolean logic, bistability and numerous other traits associated with a scalable logic family using immiscible fluids in microfluidic geometries. A bubble in a channel represents a bit. But unlike electronics, a bit of information can also carry a chemical payload, allowing us to manipulate materials and information at the same time. This paradigm ties together chemistry and computation.

There is an older paradigm which ties together chemistry and computation: life.

Go Prakash’s site and check out the amazing pictures. For a (relatively) low-tech example of computation using fluids, see programmable water.

Posted on February 15th, 2007 by pwyll
Filed under: science