IBM researchers in San Jose have found a way to transfer information using just a handful of atoms, holding out the promise of ultra-small, ultra-fast computer chips that could move data without using wires.
Scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center created a process that uses quantum waves to transfer information from one part of a ``nanoprocessor'' to another without relying on any physical connection.
The breakthrough, called the ``quantum mirage'' effect, is described in today's edition of the British scientific journal ``Nature.'' If IBM and other research institutions can develop a commercially viable method of creating a quantum mirage -- a very big if -- and combine it with other radical new technologies, it could lead to future generations of ultra-small processors that could potentially be billions of times more powerful than today's fastest microprocessors.
Mensen die denken voldoende technisch-natuurkundige onderbouwing te hebben kunnen hier hun hart ophalen.