nanomachinery
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DARPA hard at work on nanomechanical chips
These chips won't be blazing through Crysis any time soon, but there's certainly room in the world for mechanical nanocomputers, and thanks to DARPA we might seem them in the real world sooner rather than later. The chips harken back Babbage's 13 ton difference engine, but with a whole lot more nano. They're also more robust, generate less heat and consume less power than their solid-state counterparts. DARPA has plenty of uses for them on the battlefield (like counting bullets, oddly enough), and consumers might seem them showing up car engines and children's toys.[Via Crave]
