4 ms·

The question still stands. Looks like material itself is cheap and can't handle a lot of current. * You can make charger cables out of it but it will make no p

The question still stands. Looks like material itself is cheap and can't handle a lot of current. * You can make charger cables out of it but it will make no practical difference, actually marking things worse due to subpar mechanical aspects. * In-device interconnects, motherboard-level - maybe. Tiny bump in efficiency. * CPUs etc - highly unlikely, we are talking dozens-atoms-level stuff, going to be really hard to replicate superconductor properties AND the usual semiconductor stuff * Networking - this one could be great. No signal repeaters, faster (optical cables are slow due to weird curved path light takes). Out if ideas. Anything else? Hi-power applications are more straightforward - better electric engines, etc. World-changing power transmission stuff... P.S. Cold Fusion exists, just not practical atm https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muon-catalyzed_fusion https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muon-catalyzed_fusion

JohnBooty 3y ago
CPUs etc - highly unlikely, we are talking dozens-atoms-level stuff, going to be really hard to replicate superconductor properties AND the usual semiconductor stuff Possibly moronic question: Maybe a RTSC based chip doesnt need to compete with modern chips in terms of process size or transistor count? What if you could make an RTSC based chip with complexity and process size comparable to e.g. a 1993 era RISC chip but it runs at 500ghz or something (Of course you'd need memory, or at least a heck of a cache, that could keep up)
- PaulHoule 3y ago
  Already it ought to be possible to clock an indium phosphide cpu to 50 GHz or beyond and there was an SBIR awarded to make one back in the 1990s. Memory is a problem though, particular the whole system has to be small since it already takes a nanosecond for light to travel one meter. Note silicon (probably any semiconductor) is about to hit the wall in terms of feature size. An obvious answer is to stack logic elements in top of each other but it is already difficult to extract heat from 2-d silicon chips. If superconducting gates really use 1000 times less power that stacking might be possible.
  - out_of_protocol 3y ago
    "superconducting" obviously different from "semiconductor". Fat chance combining these. Maybe in the future, that's going to be separate instant Nobel prize, on top of the one we're talking about now
    - mikewarot 3y ago
      They combine those in quantum computers all the time. You'd be able to do it without liquid helium if this works out. Personally, I want to own a SQUID[1] or two for some experiments, which is otherwise FAR outside my budget. They've been made with HTS, I see no reason why they couldn't be made with this. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID
      - out_of_protocol 3y ago
        In quantum computers we are talking double digits cubits. In regular computing, we do store and process billions snd billions bits. Regular 1TB microSD is 10^13 bits or so, regular CPU contains a dozen or two of billions of transistors. So, clearly, it doesn't work same way
        mikewarot 3y ago
        Take a look at the DWave computers, they use the same processes for silicon and superconductors in one big wafer. The chemistry and processes can be made to be compatible. So, in theory you could assemble a device with multiple SQUIDs on it, sampling the A field[1] in 3 dimensions, instead of the B field (the Curl of the A field) that is usually measured, just for one instance. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_vector_potential https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_vector_potential
        out_of_protocol 3y ago
        measurement parts and computation parts can be on the same wafer but they are separate beings. in regular CPU you don't need measurement part, mostly. Transistors work precisely because they are made of semiconductors - due to some quantum mechanisms like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_gap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_gap And transistors is where you loose most of energy. You can make capacitors out of superconducting material, and it could work out somehow for memory elements (at this moment these are made from transistors as well)

JohnBooty 3y ago

CPUs etc - highly unlikely, we are talking dozens-atoms-level stuff, going to be really hard to replicate superconductor properties AND the usual semiconductor stuff Possibly moronic question: Maybe a RTSC based chip doesnt need to compete with modern chips in terms of process size or transistor count? What if you could make an RTSC based chip with complexity and process size comparable to e.g. a 1993 era RISC chip but it runs at 500ghz or something (Of course you'd need memory, or at least a heck of a cache, that could keep up)

PaulHoule 3y ago
Already it ought to be possible to clock an indium phosphide cpu to 50 GHz or beyond and there was an SBIR awarded to make one back in the 1990s. Memory is a problem though, particular the whole system has to be small since it already takes a nanosecond for light to travel one meter. Note silicon (probably any semiconductor) is about to hit the wall in terms of feature size. An obvious answer is to stack logic elements in top of each other but it is already difficult to extract heat from 2-d silicon chips. If superconducting gates really use 1000 times less power that stacking might be possible.
- out_of_protocol 3y ago
  "superconducting" obviously different from "semiconductor". Fat chance combining these. Maybe in the future, that's going to be separate instant Nobel prize, on top of the one we're talking about now
  - mikewarot 3y ago
    They combine those in quantum computers all the time. You'd be able to do it without liquid helium if this works out. Personally, I want to own a SQUID[1] or two for some experiments, which is otherwise FAR outside my budget. They've been made with HTS, I see no reason why they couldn't be made with this. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID
    - out_of_protocol 3y ago
      In quantum computers we are talking double digits cubits. In regular computing, we do store and process billions snd billions bits. Regular 1TB microSD is 10^13 bits or so, regular CPU contains a dozen or two of billions of transistors. So, clearly, it doesn't work same way
      - mikewarot 3y ago
        Take a look at the DWave computers, they use the same processes for silicon and superconductors in one big wafer. The chemistry and processes can be made to be compatible. So, in theory you could assemble a device with multiple SQUIDs on it, sampling the A field[1] in 3 dimensions, instead of the B field (the Curl of the A field) that is usually measured, just for one instance. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_vector_potential https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_vector_potential
        out_of_protocol 3y ago
        measurement parts and computation parts can be on the same wafer but they are separate beings. in regular CPU you don't need measurement part, mostly. Transistors work precisely because they are made of semiconductors - due to some quantum mechanisms like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_gap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_gap And transistors is where you loose most of energy. You can make capacitors out of superconducting material, and it could work out somehow for memory elements (at this moment these are made from transistors as well)