From Deseret News archives:
U. physicists work toward ultra-fast computing
Well, they're working on it.
Scientists are using the properties inside electrons that spin at an idling speed faster than light to show the way to a new generation of ultra-fast computers and electronics.
That new era just got a a little closer, according to findings published Sunday by a team of University of Utah physicists who managed to successfully switch an electric current on and off using the "spin" within electrons.
The findings are a key step toward "spin transistors" that will lead to the semiconductor switch of the future. The research is a continuation of mapping the properties of electrons, first detected in the 1920s, a breakthrough that has led to so-called "spintronics" and is regarded as critical to understanding the nature of things as the theory of relativity.
Researchers hope to develop computers that are much smaller and faster by using electrons' spin as well as their electrical charge to store and transmit information; the up and down spins of electrons also can represent ones and zeroes in computing.
Getting to that ultra-fast future won't be easy, and will take what amounts to a step back, or at least a reassessment, of a key element in the new electronics: making highly efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using organic materials. It is going to be more difficult than first thought.
A possible new light of future generations was captured as an orange glow by U. physicists John Lupton and Christoph Boehme using green and blue laser beams to excite a one-twelfth-inch long by one-eighth-inch wide piece of the polymer MEH-PP, a basic component in the LED in new computer screens, telephone displays, DVD players, game consoles, televisions and other electronics.
The researchers note, however, that such LEDs would convert no more than 25 percent of electricity into light rather than heat. The findings contradict earlier estimates that up to 63 percent of electricity would be turned into light.
The finding is not a surprise given the course of quantum mechanics, the most recent frontier of physics that is attempting to describe the behavior of molecules, atoms and subatomic particles.
Recent comments
RE: Interesting....Bill Gates never said that, it is an apocryphal...
Chad | Aug. 18, 2008 at 4:04 p.m.
The technology moves forward. Remember when Bill Gates thought we...
Interesting | Aug. 18, 2008 at 1:46 p.m.
"Amature?" You must have meant to call yourself an amateur, meaning...
OK | Aug. 18, 2008 at 1:43 p.m.
- Ex-commish stripped of certification 4:38 p.m.
- Pikus-Pace back on Olympic track 4:34 p.m.
- Mormon Times briefly 4:17 p.m.
- Woman recounts night of shooting 4:15 p.m.
- Small plane crashes near Lehi 4:02 p.m.
- Increase anti-tobacco campaigns? 3:25 p.m.
- 4th Redskins starting RB of season 3:23 p.m.
- 'Bama wins $32M bet on Saban 3:22 p.m.
- Texas preps strike Nike deal 3:21 p.m.
- IOC withholds Jones' 100-meter gold 3:18 p.m.
- Hot Rod behind mic for Lakers
- Cougars use depth to beat ASU
- Max Hall wants to look ahead
- Non-BCS schools not given fair shot
- Snow brings big chill
- Panel passes BCS playoff bill
- Jazz go up against 'the best'
- Many seek to wipe clean misdeeds
- Haws playing like a veteran
- Doctor calls Mitchell 'naive,' 'inept'
- Y. profs: Beck not all-knowing
289 - Letters: Global warming a lie
225 - TCU to play Boise in Fiesta Bowl
206 - BYU football: Bronco weighs in on Hall
177 - Cougars going back to Vegas
150 - Utah/BYU rivalry can be more civil
145 - Andersen apologizes for Jordan hoax
133 - George lost in rivalry hatefest
121 - Ed Smart 'appalled' at testimony
100 - Revive full food tax?
98
My wife Lisa and I would prefer never to argue. But that's not going to...
For the latest news in the health care debate and how it affects you...
Sorry Matthew, but people shouldn't be looking. Just because lights are...
I'm a Laker fan and many of these posts crack me up. The Jazz are a solid...
Let me see if I got this straight: When Max Hall says he hates Utah fans,...
He is a dirt bag. He has scammed so many undocumented immigrants over the...
Worthless, please post a link to one of the "studies"
@Redshirt Honestly? Did you seriously just write that? Where have i...
The BCS system is rigged and unfair, but Congress has no proper authority to...
Did the right thing. Hopefully he'll be ok. As far as people staring and...
Does anyone think Urban Meyer had anything to say about UF not playing TCU?...
If you're so affluent pay a storage yard fee and store your RV there. The...


