There is a fascinating article in Scientific American on Computers
that run on Chaos located at;
http://www.sciam.com/1998/1298issue/1298techbus3.html
"They will come in many forms. The first machines will probably be
assembled out of lasers or analog electronic circuits. But in
principle, Ditto says, chaotic computers could be made by connecting a
bunch of almost any devices that slip easily into chaos--not
randomness, but cyclic behavior that cannot be predicted very far in
advance because it is so sensitive to tiny perturbations. The
"processors" could theoretically be something as simple as dripping
faucets.
Building a computer out of leaky spigots is easier than you might
think, and it illustrates well how a chaotic computer would work. If a
faucet is very leaky, its drips fall in a chaotic rhythm that varies
wildly depending on the water pressure. Slightly leaky faucets,
however, drip steadily. So the tap handle can control both the rate of
dripping and whether it is regular or chaotic.
To add three numbers--x, y and z--simply place a funnel under three
faucets, adjust them to drip x, y and z times a minute, respectively,
and then measure how many drops of water leave the funnel after a
minute. Boolean logic, the foundation of all digital computing, is
only slightly harder. The trick is to set the water pressure and
handle position to just the right point at which the spigot drips
exactly once per minute if left alone but not at all if a single extra
drop of water is added to the pipe behind it. Almost all chaotic
systems will have such critical points, and chaos theory tells you how
to find them. By arranging many faucets on a wall so that the drips of
higher taps start or stop lower faucets leaking, one can program with
plumbing.
Of course, Ditto and his colleagues plan to use considerably faster
components: advanced lasers that, instead of dripping, send out
femtosecond pulses, trillions of which can fit comfortably into one
second. "Coupling them together, so that each leaks light into the
next, might allow us to perform billions or trillions of calculations
per second," he says, giddy at the prospect.
"We're also working on using silicon chips to control living neurons,"
which behave chaotically, Ditto reports. A web of such cybercells
could work on many different parts of a problem at the same time.
"This really is a whole new paradigm for computers," Ditto says. "
====================
Analog, then digital, now chaotic....amazing...
I think this chaos process might have something to do with finally
tapping free energy....where tiny perturbations would redirect random
behavior into coherence to do work, as in extract energy.
A neat site that has lots to check out, where I found the SCIAM page,
is at;
it has all kinds of news and other links...
_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com