Stanford Computer Processor Uses Moving Water Drops

Two things that don't mix well are computers and water. Spill a glass of water on your notebook and odds are you will be in the market for a new notebook. Normal computers rely on electricity to power all the magic inside the processor to make the computer do what you want it to from playing games to crunching numbers for your budget.

A new computer designed by Stanford researchers doesn't need electricity to make the processor work, it used moving drops of water. Researchers on this project aren't looking to replace traditional computers, instead they believe that this creation is a way to control and manipulate physical matter. Despite not intending to replace traditional computers, the water PC can reproduce mathematical logic operations.

The computer is constructed with a series of very small "T" and "I" shaped pieces of metal arranged to affect the shape of a magnetic field generated by electromagnetic coils that surround the machine. The liquid used inside the machine is a ferrofluid that can be manipulated by a magnetic field.

Depending on how the small pieces of metal inside the machine are arranged, the liquid will move in a specific pattern. The idea is that since the way the liquid in the machine moves can be controlled, the machine could be used to sort or arrange drops of different chemicals. The machine may one day be a sort of tiny factory that can be shrunk down to a size that allows it to be swallowed and like a tiny internal 3D printer to help repair the human body.

SOURCE: Gizmodo