Bob Metcalfe, winner of the Turing Award, the “Nobel Prize of computing,” for the co-invention of the Ethernet, will provide some ideas on the upcoming COSM meet on what to anticipate “Past Chips, Silicon, and Information Facilities.” (Agenda: Thursday, October 31, 9:15 am).
Riffing off the date (sure, that’s Hallowe’en), he asks, “Will we be spooked by the approaching terahertz waferscale paradigm?”
Spooked by the what?
Terahertz waves
The present pace of computer systems might be vastly improved greatly improved by accessing terahertz waves, business leaders say. However these excessive frequency waves are onerous to achieve on the electromagnetic spectrum:
Between the beams of seen mild and the blips of radio static, there lies a lifeless zone the place our know-how isn’t efficient. It’s known as the terahertz hole. For many years now, nobody’s succeeded in constructing a shopper gadget that may transmit terahertz waves.”
Popular Science March 22, 2022
However terahertz know-how shouldn’t be unattainable like time travel. It’s simply onerous in the identical method that producing a single layer of graphene for computing was onerous.
Dealing with terahertz waves economically sufficient for on a regular basis use means overcoming many challenges.
Waferscale computing
Many highly effective laptop processors will be packed onto a giant wafer utilizing graphene. When they’re all collectively, they’ll obtain economies of scale that elude even highly effective processors which are all working individually.
Like graphene, these new applied sciences work in principle however making them cost-competitive is a crucial subsequent step.
Metcalfe’s Legislation
Bob Metcalfe’s philosophy of laptop know-how will be summed up in a regulation attributed to him, with help from tech thinker George Gilder:
a community’s influence is proportional to the sq. of the variety of nodes within the community. The main target is on the variety of doable connections among the many nodes. For instance, if a community has 10 nodes (i.e., computer systems, servers and/or connecting customers), its proportional worth is 100 (10 x 10). (Techopedia)
The importance of the regulation is way simpler to know if we swap to the detrimental case: “proudly owning a single fax machine is ineffective. When there are two fax machines, you’ll be able to talk with one different individual, however when there are tens of millions, the gadget positive aspects vital worth.” (Techopedia)
The ensuing huge enhance in alternatives goes past easy numerical multiplication. With the web, for instance, we will talk — in precept — with any of tons of of tens of millions of individuals, which is why the web is remodeling enterprise and commerce across the globe.
Right here’s an interview that enterprise prof Jay Richards did with Metcalfe at COSM 2023 on the dangers and rewards of the web:
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You may additionally want to learn: COSM 2024: Study extra in regards to the tech that can replace the chip. Tech thinker George Gilder predicted the smartphone within the Nineties. His lineup of scitech greats can inform you what comes subsequent. Want you had identified in regards to the smartphone earlier than 2000? – as an alternative of the Y2K scare that dominated the headlines however got here to nothing? Come to COSM!