A Computer in a Liquid: Hundreds of Oscillating Particles Compute Complex Patterns

A computer in a liquid: Hundreds of oscillating particles compute complex patterns

Researchers at the Universities of Konstanz and Stuttgart have demonstrated a new approach to computation: a computer made from a few hundred microscopic particles oscillating in a liquid. Instead of processing information through carefully fabricated electronic circuits, their system performs computations by harnessing the complex collective dynamics of interacting particles.

A computer made of particles oscillating in a liquid

Liquid-coupled microscopic particles can perform reservoir computing, predict chaotic signals and detect subtle anomalies with low hardware demands.