We always hear that future computers will use optical technology. But what will that look like for a general-purpose computer? German researchers explain it in a recent scientific paper. Although the ...

Computers that use light instead of circuits to run calculations may sound like a plot point from a Star Trek episode, but researchers have been working on this novel approach to computing for years.

Researchers have created the tiniest laser since its invention nearly 50 years ago, paving the way for a host of innovations, including superfast computers that use light instead of electrons to ...

Optical drives let your computer read and interact with discs like CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays. While nearly every computer had them a few years ago, they're rare to see on new computers now. If you need ...

Modular optical computer chip allows stackable swappable functions By Michael Irving June 20, 2022 MIT engineers have developed a new modular computer chip that uses flashes of light to communicate ...

The idea of optical computing—the use of photons instead of electrons to perform computational operations—has been around for decades. However, interest has resurged in recent years; the potential for ...

Although computers are overwhelmingly digital today, there’s a good point to be made that analog computers are the more efficient approach for specific applications. The authors behind a recent paper ...

Optical multiplication: a new technique for combining light signals could give optical computers a boost. (Courtesy: iStock/7io) Researchers in Russia and the UK have proposed a new and simple way to ...

Excuse me a moment—I am going to be bombastic, over excited, and possibly annoying. The race is run, and we have a winner in the future of quantum computing. IBM, Google, and everyone else can turn in ...

British researchers have created a new material that could allow for the creation of all-optical computers -- computers that are orders of magnitude faster and power efficient than today's hot, sweaty ...

Computers that use light instead of circuits to run calculations may sound like a plot point from a Star Trek episode, but researchers have been working on this novel approach to computing for years.