rvk@twitch.UUCP ( Bob Kline) (03/16/89)
the processor mentioned built of Josephson Junction devices is claimed to run at something like 250 MIPs. yes, perseverence seems to be the Japanese winning strategy all right. people in the U.S. once had a reputation for this also. about the time IBM got out of JJ research, one investigator was able to take some of the technology and start a small company - Hypress I believe. the first offering was a 70 GHz sampling scope. I'm told the company has recently introduced a 28 GHz broadband scope for rf work, and is eyeing computers. the approach initially used (maybe still used) to cool the chips to necessary temperatures was to simply drip liqued (i.e., liquid) helium on one corner. strightforward, and it works. perhaps a longer term worry is that the Japanese devices have tens of thousands of devices on them, so larger systems can apparently be built and adequately cooled. what breakthroughs and techniques were uncovered that IBM missed I don't know, but it is believable that the Japanese now possess a viable technology that our biggest and best couldn't see through.
henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (03/17/89)
In article <1196@twitch.UUCP> rvk@twitch.UUCP ( Bob Kline) writes: >...perhaps a longer term worry is that the Japanese devices have >tens of thousands of devices on them, so larger systems can >apparently be built and adequately cooled. what breakthroughs and >techniques were uncovered that IBM missed I don't know, but it >is believable that the Japanese now possess a viable technology >that our biggest and best couldn't see through. Let's not get too excited about this just yet. IBM had some impressive experimental hardware too. IBM did *not* abandon its big JJ project because it couldn't be made to work in the lab, they abandoned it because they felt it couldn't be made to work well enough to be a commercial success. It is still possible that they were right. -- Welcome to Mars! Your | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology passport and visa, comrade? | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu
njs@scifi.UUCP (Nicholas J. Simicich) (03/22/89)
As long as superconductivity required liquid helium for cooling, one had to worry about what producing large commercial quantities of this sort of equipment would do to the cost and availability of liquid helium. I personally hope that some fallout from the new high temperature superconductivity discoveries will be applicable. Speaking for myself, of course. -- Nick Simicich --- uunet!bywater!scifi!njs --- njs@ibm.com (Internet)