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Geek Culture / Horizon Tonight British Viewers!

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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 12:15
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BBC2..9:00pm

Horizon

Nanotechnology

Hendrik Schon has made a computer out of an organic molecule. This could be the end of the silicon chip. Computers will be grown like living cells!


Pincho.

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Van B
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 12:50
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Scientists have been looking for silicon alternatives for years - basically Silicon is holding technology back because we're reaching the limits of what we can do on it. It'll still be used for decades, but it's cool to see them take on new ideas.

Nanotechnology is really exciting, it's like tiny gears and components etched onto silicon (or whatever) with motors and solenoids etc, it's amazing what they can do nowadays. Imagine a robot the width of a human hair, travelling around your bloodstream monitoring your health or breaking down clots before they pose problems. We'll have mechanical parasites inside us before long, mark my words.


Van-B


The nature of Monkey was irrepressible!.
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OSX Using Happy Dude
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 13:02 Edited at: 5th Feb 2004 13:03
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Turns out Hendrik Schoen could be rather dodgy... See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3459769.stm


The place for all great plug-ins.
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Dr OcCuLt
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 15:00
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Quote: "Hendrik Schon has made a computer out of an organic molecule. This could be the end of the silicon chip. Computers will be grown like living cells!"


yes and no, your brain a vary good computer but it not that fast if you you set your brian of doing some thing like

it will take a look longer then a old PC

but if made your brian look for the latter A in an image then you brian will find it in half the time that the best new PC can do. this is becos the brian is good at looking for pattons in thing but there not any good a number crunting. so Schon as long as need a lot of maths doing in programs.

but the next real big jump in quantum computer. this works by inputing data in the spin stants of atoms then letting at the two atoms inter act to get the output.

all thay got one to do so far is 1+1=2 but if it work it can crack the PGP code in 20 mintens where a noral pc will take 250000 years to do that.

--Dr 0--

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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 15:08
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Yargh he's a fraud! That puts a new light on tonights program. Not so much interesting science, but rather, a story of lost credibility with a mix of what could be in the future.


Pincho.

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Chris K
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 20:38 Edited at: 5th Feb 2004 20:39
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Quote: "but the next real big jump in quantum computer. this works by inputing data in the spin stants of atoms then letting at the two atoms inter act to get the output."


Quantum computers are just about to be proven to be impossible. Too bad

Also, if they were possible, then Quantum Cryptography would be possilble and that has been proven to be an absolutely unbreakable code.

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HZence
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 20:54
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Quote: "We'll have mechanical parasites inside us before long, mark my words."


X-Files!


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Dazzag
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 21:02
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Nah. The TV event of the week is on tonight. Yep : Darkplace.
http://www.garthmarenghi.com Oh yes indeedy.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Chris K
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 21:16
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Quote: "What I was asking in that scene was - if research scientists are payed peanuts, can they literally turn into monkeys? And no one had every asked that before"


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IanM
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 21:31
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Quote: "Quantum computers are just about to be proven to be impossible"


Says who?

Quote: "and that has been proven to be an absolutely unbreakable code"


almost, but not quite...

Recent articles in New Scientist cover both of these points.

The first was most recently covered in issue 2431 (Jan 24th) and is about Quantum Knots - apparently one of the best chances we have for creating usable quantum computers.

The second was covered in issue 2423 (Nov 29th) and although it does not cover breaking the code (probably impossible) it does cover hacks that could be used to get around the code.


... I can't help it. I'm a geek at heart

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Ian T
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 21:41
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Quote: "Hendrik Schon has made a computer out of an organic molecule. This could be the end of the silicon chip. Computers will be grown like living cells!"


Organic cells are--

-Perishable
-Unpredictable
-Unstable
-Fragile
-Almost impossible to matenince

Manufactured diamonds are the future of computers, not organic cells... not yet at least.

--Mouse: Famous (Avatarless) Fighting Furball

I am the chainsaw paladin.
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Dr OcCuLt
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Posted: 5th Feb 2004 23:36
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Quote: "Quantum computers are just about to be proven to be impossible"


how do you now what going to happon in the then. if it not proven yet it not proven? and it a lot easyer to proveing that some thing can work more then proveing some hing can`t.

Quote: "if they were possible, then Quantum Cryptography would be possilble and that has been proven to be an absolutely unbreakable code."


a code that can`t be breaken in less then 250,000 years is in realy unbreakable there for if Quantum Cryptography work it will make new unbreakable but not the frest.

but it good to now some one out there now what there takeing about.

--Dr 0--

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MushroomHead
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Posted: 6th Feb 2004 14:22 Edited at: 6th Feb 2004 14:22
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Quite a good documentary, the claims of world economy grinding to a halt (stock market crash?) if a replacement to silicon is not found are quite worrying. Nevertheless, using diamonds to replace silicon is one way but way expensive, the Japanese are carrying ouy 2 separate researches into this.

Carbon is another alternative :-

http://www.computerbits.com/archive/2003/1100/carbonchips.html

http://www.zackcoburn.com/school/science/research/nanotubecomputer.php
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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 6th Feb 2004 14:33
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Tiny diamond grains are not expensive. Just big diamonds are expensive. You can buy all sorts of things that use diamond grains. Sandpaper, drill bits, record needles, all sorts.

Pincho.

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Benjamin
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Posted: 6th Feb 2004 14:54
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black diamond is used for cutting tools..

Benjamin R Wharton
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Van B
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Posted: 6th Feb 2004 16:21
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One thing that does'nt seem to concearn anyone is that there's actually 2 races - firstly we have the race to discover a replacement for silicon. Then, what happens when we're constructing smaller and smaller transistors - then we don't have the means to go any smaller because we can't get the resolution of wafer mask onto the material.

Basically a microchip is made by taking a silicon wafer, which is a bit like a CD, then adding material to it, projecting a mask image onto it and etching it back off again to leave the microchip components. I can't see how photographic technology can keep up - we're not even talking digital technology here, we're talking microfiche technology from decades ago. The setting up and mechanism aspect is advancing, but we're still using the same techniques.


Van-B


The nature of Monkey was irrepressible!.
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haggisman
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Posted: 6th Feb 2004 17:41
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I for one am looking forward to spintronic based devices, and some of the technology will be available soon (MRAM). So i doubt we will fail to hit Moores law for a long time yet.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0007A735-759A-1CDD-B4A8809EC588EEDF&pageNumber=1&catID=2

Defying the convention of an upright avatar since 1985
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David T
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Posted: 6th Feb 2004 23:14
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I watched it last night. Good programme.

"They misunderestimated us" - George Bush
"The box said 'Requires Windows 95 or better'. So I installed LINUX. "
Formerly David89.
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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 7th Feb 2004 00:27
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I just saw a program advertised for the making of Tetris! It sounded good. There is a lot more to that game than meets the eye!

And talking about eyes....

Here's my new sig!!!

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