Computronium is a material hypothesized by
Norman Margolus and
Tommaso Toffoli of
MIT in 1991 to be used as "
programmable matter", a substrate for
computer modeling
Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be det ...
of virtually any real object.
It also refers to a arrangement of matter that is the best possible form of computing device for that amount of matter. In this context, the term can refer both to a theoretically perfect arrangement of hypothetical materials that would have been developed using
nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
at the molecular, atomic, or subatomic level (in which case this interpretation of computronium could be
unobtainium), and to the best possible achievable form using currently available and used computational materials.
According to the
Barrow scale, a modified variant of the
Kardashev scale created by British physicist
John D. Barrow, which is intended to categorize the development stage of
extraterrestrial civilizations, it would be conceivable that advanced civilizations do not claim more and more space and resources, but optimize their already available space increasingly, for example by building a
matrioshka brain consisting of several layers of computronium around their star.
In the 2010 film ''
The Singularity Is Near: A True Story About the Future'', American futurist
Ray Kurzweil
Raymond Kurzweil ( ; born February 12, 1948) is an American computer scientist, author, inventor, and futurist. He is involved in fields such as optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and ...
discusses a universe filled with computronium.
He believes this could be possible as early as the late 22nd century and would be accomplished by sending intelligent
nanobots through the universe faster than light, e.g. by using
wormhole
A wormhole ( Einstein-Rosen bridge) is a hypothetical structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special solution of the Einstein field equations.
A wormhole can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate p ...
s.
According to him, such an endeavor would have the potential to prevent the natural
ending of the universe.
In addition, the term computronium is used in connection with
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
narratives.
See also
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Limits of computation
*
Molecular scale electronics
*
Molecular electronics
Molecular electronics is the study and application of molecular building blocks for the fabrication of electronic components. It is an interdisciplinary area that spans physics, chemistry, and materials science. The unifying feature is use of m ...
*
Computon
References
{{reflist
Fictional computers
Fictional materials
Hypothetical technology