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Optical Computer
A computer that processes information using light instead of electrons. Each stream of photons represents an independent sequence of data, thereby providing extremely massive parallel computation. Nanooptical computers can use a single photon as a bit.
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- Photon - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
The quantum unit of electromagnetic radiation, having some properties of a wave. For each wavelength, the photon has a different energy. - Photonics - Text by M. Alan Kazlev based on a list by Robert J. Hall
The study of the control of photons, especially for the transmission of information. Includes technology such as lasers, laser amplifiers, fiber optic cables, light-conducting buckytubes, light emitters, sensors and imaging systems of all sorts, charge-coupled devices, optical communication systems, holography, phased array optics, optical computers, and all types of optical data storage systems.
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Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev
Initially published on 17 December 2001.
Initially published on 17 December 2001.
