Trust those Finns to come up with a crazy idea that really works.
Timon Singh writes at Inhabitat.com about a team of Finnish researchers from Aalto University and their electricity-free computer powered by water droplets.
Singh writes that the researchers “developed a new concept for computing that doesn’t require standard electric power. Instead, the team creates collisions of water droplets on a highly water-repellent (superhydrophobic) surface. The research, which was published in the journal Advanced Materials, could form the basis for tomorrow’s electricity-free computing devices.
“After a series of experiments, the team determined that the ideal conditions for rebounding water droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces required a copper surface coated with silver and chemically modified with a fluorinated compound. This allowed the surface to be so h2o repellent that water droplets rolled off when the surface was tilted slightly. Using superhydrophobic tracks, the droplets were able to be guided along designed paths.
“Using this method, the researchers demonstrated that water droplets could be used to demonstrate ‘superhydrophobic droplet logic.’ In the university’s press release, the team used the example of a memory device that was built where water droplets act as bits of digital information.”
If you aren’t deterred by the technical language, read more here.
Now I just need to know if the earth has enough water to make this green technology for computing a reality. We have an awful lot of computers.
Photo: Inhabitat.com
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