In the past twenty years, there has been a dramatic increase in the processing speed of computers, network capacity and the speed of the internet. These advances have paved the way for the revolution of fields such as quantum physics, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology. These advances will have a profound effect on the way we live and work, the virtual reality we see in movies like the Matrix, may actually come true in the next decade or so.

Nanocomputers

Scientists are trying to use nanotechnology to make very tiny chips, electrical conductors and logic gates. Using nanotechnology, chips can be built up one atom at a time and hence there would be no wastage of space, enabling much smaller devices to be built. Using this technology, logic gates will be composed of just a few atoms and electrical conductors (called nanowires) will be merely an atom thick and a data bit will be represented by the presence or absence of an electron.

A component of nanotechnology, nanocomputing will give rise to four types of nanocomputers:

• Electronic nanocomputers
• Chemical and Biochemical nanocomputers
• Mechanical nanocomputers
• Quantum nanocomputers

Electronic nanocomputers

Eletronic nanocomputers are created through microscopic circuits using nanolithography. [Nanocomputers]

The interaction between different chemicals and their structures is used to store and process information in chemical nanocomputers. In order to create a chemical nanocomputer, engineers need to be able to control individual atoms and molecules so that these atoms and molecules can be made to perform controllable calculations and data storage tasks.

A mechanical nanocomputer uses tiny mobile components called nanogears to encode information. Some scientists predict that such mechanical nanocomputers will be used to control nanorobots.

A quantum nanocomputer store data in the form of atomic quantum states or spin. Single-electron memory (SEM) and quantum dots are examples of this type of technology.

Apart from this, scientists aim to use nanotechnology to create nanorobots that will serve as antibodies that can be programmed. This will help to protect humans against pathogenic bacteria and viruses that keep mutating rendering many remedies ineffective against new strains. Nanorobots would overcome this problem by reprogramming selectively to destroy the new pathogens. Nanorobots are predicted to be part of the future of human medicine.

Consider that research is being done at the Ediburgh University to create "spray-on computers the size of a grain of sand” that will transform information technology. The research team aims to achieve this goal within four years.

When these nanocomputers are sprayed on to the chests of coronary patients, the tiny cells record a patient’s health and transmit information back to a hospital computer. This would enable doctors to monitor heart patients who are living at home.