Semiconductor experts agree that the ongoing shrinkage in “conventional” electronic devices will inevitably reach fundamental limits due to quantum effects such as “tunneling,” in which electrons jump out of their prescribed circuit path and create atomic-scale interference between devices. At that point, radical new approaches to data storage and information processing will be required for further advances. For example, radically new systems have been imagined that are based on quantum computing or biomolecular computing.
Examples-from-biological-and-mechanical-realms-illustrate-various-orders-ofExamples from biological and mechanical realms illustrate various “orders of magnitude” …[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
The-structure-of-buckminsterfullereneThe structure of buckminsterfullerene (C60).[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
Top-down-approaches-have-been-developed-for-building-structures-atTop-down approaches have been developed for building structures at the scale of the micrometre …[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
Phospholipid-molecules-composed-of-fatty-acid-tails-and-a-phosphatePhospholipid molecules, composed of fatty acid “tails” and a phosphate …[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
Coherent-X-ray-diffraction-patterns-such-as-the-one-shownCoherent X-ray diffraction patterns, such as the one shown here of a nanosized metal cube, can be …[Credits : Reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd.; Nature, July 6, 2006, vol. 442, …]
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