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Huh, this seemed a bit too good to be true on first reading. But given that the limits on computing power tend to thermal, and that a superconducting computer presumably wouldn't produce any heat at all, it does kind of make sense.
The system as a whole will produce heat, but less.
> We use a logic primitive called the adiabatic quantum-flux-parametron (AQFP), which has a switching energy of 1.4 zJ per JJ when driven by a four-phase 5-GHz sinusoidal ac-clockat 4.2 K. The landauer limit at 4.2K is 4.019×10^-23 J (joules). So this is only a factor of 38x away from the landauer limit.
Huh, this seemed a bit too good to be true on first reading. But given that the limits on computing power tend to thermal, and that a superconducting computer presumably wouldn't produce any heat at all, it does kind of make sense.
The system as a whole will produce heat, but less.
This sounds perfect for space. It's cold in space, power is at a premium, and it can be tough getting rid of heat.
> We use a logic primitive called the adiabatic quantum-flux-parametron (AQFP), which has a switching energy of 1.4 zJ per JJ when driven by a four-phase 5-GHz sinusoidal ac-clockat 4.2 K. The landauer limit at 4.2K is 4.019×10^-23 J (joules). So this is only a factor of 38x away from the landauer limit.
Mind expanding on this a bit more? What is that that limit and how does it relate to the clock speed?
Note that the gates themselves used here are reversible, so the limit shouldn't apply to them. But the circuits built from them them aren't reversible as far as I can see in the paper, so it would still apply to the overall computation.
Given the cooling requirements, I suppose it would create completely impassable rift between datacenter computing and other kinds. Imagine how programming and operating systems might look in a world where processing power is 80x cheaper. Considering that "data centers alone consume 2% of world's enegy", I think it's worth it.
Just wait 10 years?
Given the cooling requirements, I suppose it would create completely impassable rift between datacenter computing and other kinds. Imagine how programming and operating systems might look in a world where processing power is 80x cheaper. Considering that "data centers alone consume 2% of world's enegy", I think it's worth it.
Solid state physics begets both cryogenic technology and cryocooling technology. I wouldn't write off the possibility of making an extremely small cryocooler quite yet. Maybe a pile of solid state heat pumps could do it.
This sounds perfect for space. It's cold in space, power is at a premium, and it can be tough getting rid of heat.
Its a bit cold in space. But actually its really difficult to cool down things in space as there is nothing around you to transfer heat to.
Surely due to the massively reduced power usage it would be easier to keep it cool relative to traditional compute
It'll be interesting to see if the cryptocurrency mining industry will help subsidize this work, since their primary edge is power/performance. During stable price periods, the power/performance of cryptocurrency miners runs right up to the edge of profitability, so someone who can come in at 20% under that would have a SIGNIFICANT advantage.
Given the cooling requirements, I suppose it would create completely impassable rift between datacenter computing and other kinds. Imagine how programming and operating systems might look in a world where processing power is 80x cheaper. Considering that "data centers alone consume 2% of world's enegy", I think it's worth it.