AAWSAP DIRD, Quantum Computing and Utilizing Organic Molecules in Automation Technology, December 2010

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INTRODUCTION
Computers today are not what they used to be. In the 17th century, a computer was merely a
person who performs computations. In this sense, the first computers were universally
programmable and were ultimately utilizing organic (DNA) hardware architecture. The
modern sense of a computer as a machine that manipulates input to produce deterministic
output emerged from the work of Turing in the 1930s. A Turing machine consists of four
parts: tape containing cells of symbols, read head, action table, and state register. In
operation, the state register is initialized, the first cell of the tape is read by the head, the
table translates the symbol into an action in the state register, and the tape is advanced to
read the next symbol. The read, action, advance tape loop is repeated until the program
ends.(1) Any calculation a modern digital computer can perform can be accomplished using a
Turing machine .a
Modern digital processing hardware, first used in the ENIAC in the 1950s, is based on logic
gates. All functions of a computer consist of the basic logic elements AND, OR, NOT, etc.
These are accomplished electronically by producing logic gates, combinations of transistors
that perform the logic function on input data. A common exercise in didactic digital logic
pedagogy is to design all of the basic logic gates using only NANO or NOR gates; thus, any
hardware element that can execute the NAND function can build a complete computer.b
Optimum designs are regularly more elegant than combining a single two-input gate, but it is
sufficient as proof of principle for any architecture to be able to produce an inverter and a
simple logic gate (AND/OR).
The quest for faster computing can be accomplished by making current hardware
architecture faster, or by designing new hardware based on different architecture that solves
the calculation in fewer steps. The current treatise concentrates on the latter, dramatically
changing the architecture of modern computers to perform calculations in a different manner.
Two methods are explored: that of creating logic gates, and that of creating a general Turing
machine. The second of these is explored in the context of quantum computing with an
emphasis on organ ic molecules as a core technology. Designs of logic gates utilizing DNA are
covered. Background on all these areas of research is included first. Finally, DNA machines
that can assemble and repair DNA technology are outlined.
ULTRAFAST COMPUTING POWER IN AEROSPACE
APPLICATIONS
The history of manned spaceflight does not include powerful computers as integrated
companions; space-borne supercomputers have so far been reserved to the world of science
fiction. The main issue on space stations has been radiation hardness, while the main issue
on vehicles such as the space shuttle has been safety. The amount of testing required for a
microprocessor to be certified for space precludes the most current technology from
becoming astro-worthy. Indeed, the most powerful general purpose computers riding in the
shuttle are the laptops the astronauts bring with them.
• The complete history of computers up until the 1950s is a fascinating story. A good summary of this history is ava ilable
in the Wikipedia entries for "computer" and " Turing machine" among other places. The model of a Turing machine
presented is simplified .
b The didactic exercise is usual ly followed by a laboratory exercise on breadboards and measurement of the truth table .
NAND gates are popular because they are particularly simple to manufacture with current technology.
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