MIT Developing Self-Assembling Computer Chips 65
An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on have released research detailing how molecules in chips can self-assemble, potentially reducing manufacturing costs. The researchers have developed a technique in which polymers automatically fall into place to create an integrated circuit."
Self-assembling post (Score:5, Funny)
Self assembling reply (Score:3, Funny)
this reply also made itself. looks like its out of our hands now
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Sorry about the -1, Offtopic there... it self-assembled that mod.
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It's just like a computer to deflect it's responsibility onto the computer.
I can see the headline now:
Skynet says "I was programmed to do this!"
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db 'This post is written in self assembly'
Beginning of the End (Score:1)
Good to know that we'll soon have replicators...
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And I for one...
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And I for one ...
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Re:Beginning of the End (Score:4, Interesting)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicator_(Stargate) [wikipedia.org]
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Now all I need (Score:1, Funny)
...is a self-assembling girlfriend.
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All girlfriends self-assemble. You just have to decide how long to wait before that first date.
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I did it myself in 9 months.
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I think I see a pattern...
Judgement Day (Score:1)
Integrated circuit, eh? (Score:2, Funny)
Send in John Connor... (Score:1, Funny)
That's it (Score:1, Funny)
I'm taking the red pill.
Replicators ! (Score:1)
Exciting stuff (Score:5, Informative)
This is a really hot topic in research right now. For my final year project on my physics degree I am investigating a theory of a model fluid with a repulsive step potential and it's amazing what kind of self assembly you get on a mesoscopic level.
At certain temperatures and pressures the molecules will all just spontaneously line up into stripes or clusters. This could have amazingly useful applications in chip assembly, because you don't need to assemble the chip any more - you just engineer a molecule that assembles itself into the right shape.
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Eastern District Court of Texas, here I come!
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“Just”? Engineering such a molecular Transformer sounds much harder than just creating the finished chip
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This particular project may not be that closely linked, but much of the self-assembly research going on currently (by Erik Winfree et. al.) uses biological materials (DNA, proteins) as the building blocks.
Part of this is because some of the target applications involve interactions with biological systems (people, bacteria, etc.) and part is because DNA manufacturing is well-studied and powerful (in a computational sense).
Does it work with GDB? (Score:4, Funny)
How do you debug self assembly?
Is it supported by GCC yet?
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ID (Score:1)
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mod parent up
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seriously, guys. mod parent up. it's important to ask the right questions from time to time, even if you have no idea how to begin to answer. What is the difference between a virus and a selfassembling chip? dump their seed in the right environment, and they start eating. or something like that.
Don't worry. (Score:2)
autofac? (Score:2)
Cool - I've always wanted an autofac.... Or two.... Or three...
I wonder if... (Score:1)
...self assembled computer chips program themselves in self-assembly language.
And do they also self-debug ?!? It would be a dream for every programmer...
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Indeed. Mod parent up, look what happened to the illustrious US manufacturing industry. Its still going strong, but only employs about 5% of the bodies that it used to.
As more and more modern tech automates everything around us we're going to be forced to either move to a socialist government type or suffer the consequences of everyone being unemployed, hungry, and pissed off.
It's ALIVE!!! (Score:1)
There's a pretty good scifi that starts with self-modifying, self-replicating robots: screamer [youtube.com]
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Of course they turn on humans: what else would you expect?
Time to stock up on machine guns and lots of ammo! (Score:2)
Time to stock up on machine guns and lots of ammo! EMP guns only work a few times before they are able to work around them.
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Or they could just make the chips radiation hardened to begin with... oh, wait, you're talking about "magic" technologies like in the movies. Yeah - anti-EMP adaptive technology because radiation hardening is too easy and you need something that can kill the baddies, right?
import skynet (Score:2)
Mr. Crab wants to know (Score:1)
Can a Music player made from these play I_Cannot_Be_Played_on_Music_Player_X.flac?
Useless article for publicity (Score:1)
Terminator Tag (Score:1)
Maybe it's because this isn't such a new thing (according to previous posters) but it seems to be that the average post length for this story seems to be very low and they're all about one SciFi-esque self-sustaining robotic race or another. I mean, come on, if you've been following