By tapping into the enigmatic theory of how neurons transmit signals, scientists have proven they can one day build computer chips with near-zero electrical resistance.
Researchers may eventually be able to make computer processors function more like the human brain by balancing chaos and order.
In an electronic gadget, researchers produced circumstances at the “edge of chaos,” a location where order and disorder meet to enable quick information transfer.
It enabled the scientists to overcome any signal loss brought on by electrical resistance and enhance a signal sent via a wire without the need for an additional amplifier. The scientists wrote in the journal Nature on September 11 that such a transmission line, which emulates the behavior of superconductors, might simplify and improve the efficiency of future computer circuits.
It sounds as though a computer chip running on the brink of anarchy may malfunction at any time. However, a number of scientists have hypothesized that the human brain functions similarly.
Think about a nerve cell, or neuron. Axons are cable-like projections found on every neuron that carry electrical messages to neighboring neurons. Your brain uses such electrical signals to sense your environment and regulate your body.
The length of an axon can vary from 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) to over 3 feet (1 meter). Signal loss occurs when an electrical signal is sent along a wire of the same length because of the wire’s resistance. In order to overcome such a problem, computer chip designers place amplifiers between shorter cables to increase the signal.
However, because axons are self-amplifying and can transfer electrical impulses with little signal loss, they do not require external amplifiers. According to some scientists, they can magnify slight variations in electrical impulses without allowing them to spiral out of control since they live on the brink of chaos.
Researchers replicated this self-amplifying activity in a non-biological system in the latest research. Initially, they created edge-of-chaos conditions on lanthanum cobaltite (LaCoO3). Little variations in the resultant voltage were magnified when they supplied the LaCoO3 with the appropriate current. After that, the group examined the circumstances on a wire that came into touch with a LaCoO3 sheet.
The same current was applied to the LaCoO3 using two 0.04-inch (1 mm) wires that were positioned on top of it. The circumstances at the verge of pandemonium were created by that current. After that, they measured the voltage signal at the opposite end of the wire after applying an oscillating voltage signal to one end of the wire. The voltage variations were somewhat amplified, according to the study.
Such a signal needs more energy to be amplified. The applied current, which was employed to keep the border of chaos in place, was the source of this energy, the scientists discovered. A portion of the energy from the applied current dissipates as heat in the majority of electronic components. Instead, some of the energy boosted the signal to the brink of pandemonium.
Being on the brink of chaos is similar to superconductivity in that resistance has very little effect. According to the scientists, if the technology is applied to chips in the future, the new technique may enable superconductor-like performance at typical temperatures and pressures.
“This kind of approach, which can eliminate thousands of repeaters and buffers, might significantly reduce