Could we build a mega-processor out of superconductors?
- by Carson Myers
A superconductor, once cooled below a critical temperature, loses all of its electrical resistance and therefore becomes 100% efficient. This means that when a current flows through a superconductor, none of the energy is lost to heat or light.
Theoretically, could we build a processor out of superconductive materials, that could effectively run at, oh I don't know, say, 300ghz? or 5,000ghz?
Since a superconductive circuit is 100% efficient, this means that once supplied with electricity, the source of power could be completely removed from the circuit and the current would continue to flow forever. So if we made all the components inside a computer out of superconductive materials, could we get away with only supplying power to the peripherals and save a-whole-lot on energy, while dramatically increasing computing speed?
Might this be one of the next big breakthroughs in computing?
What do you think?
