How might a totally unwearable diamond ring someday help us crunch at petaflop speed (dare we say yottaflop)?

MacSpruce

Diamonds may be used as a high-density data storage medium. And for beer storage as well!! http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=1451.php http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6X1J-4MMXWMN-P&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=8dcf027ff850c2d1eb352143a282163f Sep 02 08, 9:36 PM

edmund80

Excellent work MacSpruce ! You are on the right track, but I still need to fit that impossible-to-fit diamond ring. No finger is dainty enough for this one. Sep 02 08, 9:49 PM

MacSpruce

Is this the ring you seek? http://www.aip.org/png/2008/299.htm Sep 02 08, 10:11 PM

edmund80

Absolutely right ! Scientists from different nations have been battling over who can build the fastest supercomputer. For now, that title is held by IBM Roadrunner at Los Alamos with a processing rate of just over 1 petaflop, but that will certainly be exceeded soon. Computer speed is measured in FLOPS, basically how fast it does calculations. A simple handheld calculator performs a few flops, but is still perceived by us as instantaneous. A petaflop is 10 x 15th faster. A yottaflop is 10 x 24th faster. For now, the limiting factor for speed is the processor itself. Diamond chips are thought to be one promising way for even faster processors. The physical nature of diamonds permit quantum computing, that is, multiple calculations at the same time. The diamond ring in question is the world’s smallest as you have unearthed in that picture. The plan is to use that microscopic ring as sort of a gate for individually spinning photons. This system of photons, being microscopic, would permit far greater data storage, at faster speeds, at cooler temperatures. And that is how a diamond ring might someday help us compute at yottaflop speed. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_14_173/ai_n25336810 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PFLOPS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microprocessor Sep 02 08, 11:47 PM