~e; more EM newsdust

1- advances...

New Electron Microscope Is Developed at I.B.M. Lab
By JOHN MARKOFF
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/08/technology/08BLUE.html?todaysheadlines

"The new technology makes it possible to create three-dimensional images up to 10 nanometers in depth - the equivalent of as many as 50 layers of atoms."

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2- this seems to go well beyond 64-bit processor chips...

Chip trio allows glimpse into "Cell"

Collaborating engineers from IBM, Sony and Toshiba have wrapped up the design for the inner workings of a mysterious new chip called the "Cell."

http://news.com.com/2100-1001-948493.html

"...a single chip will contain multiple processing cores, or cells--an esoteric design concept that's rapidly emerging from the labs, sources said. Communications features expected to be in the chips might also allow devices to form powerful, peer-to-peer networks, some analysts believe.

"While the processor's design is still under wraps, the companies say Cell's capabilities will allow it to deliver one trillion calculations per second (teraflop) or more of floating-point calculations. It will have the ability to do north of 1 trillion mathematical calculations per second, roughly 100 times more than a single Pentium 4 chip running at 2.5GHz."

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3-- // thanks * for the fwd

Ultimate memory demoed
By Kimberly Patch, Technology Research News

http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2002/080702/Ultimate_memory_demoed_080702.html

"The researcher's prototype resembles the way nature stores data in DNA, said Himpsel. The memory structure self-assembles into the tracks. In addition, "the density and readout speed of DNA [is] quite similar to our silicon memory," he said. While DNA uses 32 atoms to store one bit using one of four base molecules, the researcher's silicon memory uses 20 atoms including the atoms between the individual atoms that store the bits, said Himpsel."

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4 a & b -- 2 articles on quantum computing...

Quantum computer called possible with today's tech
http://www.eet.com/at/news/OEG20020806S0030

""We believe that quantum computers are possible today with the component technologies we already have in place for silicon," Eriksson said. The team composed their quantum "bits" out of electron spin: up for "1," down for "0." Encoding bits in spins allows a single electron to represent either binary value, and because of the indeterminacy of quantum spins, they can represent both values during calculations to effectively create a parallel process."

Coherent Computing
Making qubit superpositions in superconductors last longer

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000CA75E-DE97-1D29-97CA809EC588EEDF

"So far no one has figured out how to make the 0/1 superposition last very long in circuit form.
Three different research teams, however, have made critical breakthroughs."

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5-- Grace the Robot

Charmed by Six Feet of Circuitry
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/08/technology/circuits/08ROBO.html?todaysheadlines

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