16-bit parallel processing in a molecular assembly

A machine assembly consisting of 17 identical molecules of 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1-4-benzoquinone (DRQ) executes 16 instructions at a time. A single DRQ is positioned at the center of a circular ring formed by 16 other DRQs, controlling their operation in parallel through hydrogen-bond channels. Each...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 105; no. 10; pp. 3668 - 3672
Main Authors Bandyopadhyay, Anirban, Acharya, Somobrata
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 11.03.2008
National Acad Sciences
Subjects
Architecture
Atoms
Charge density
Chemicals
Hydrogen
Hydrogen bonds
Microscopy
Molecular structure
Molecules
Motors
Neutrality
Oxygen
Physical Sciences
Truth tables
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Summary:A machine assembly consisting of 17 identical molecules of 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1-4-benzoquinone (DRQ) executes 16 instructions at a time. A single DRQ is positioned at the center of a circular ring formed by 16 other DRQs, controlling their operation in parallel through hydrogen-bond channels. Each molecule is a logic machine and generates four instructions by rotating its alkyl groups. A single instruction executed by a scanning tunneling microscope tip on the central molecule can change decisions of 16 machines simultaneously, in four billion (4¹⁶) ways. This parallel communication represents a significant conceptual advance relative to today's fastest processors, which execute only one instruction at a time.
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Author contributions: A.B. designed research; A.B. performed research; A.B. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; A.B. and S.A. analyzed data; and A.B. and S.A. wrote the paper.
Edited by Mark A. Ratner, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, and approved January 15, 2008
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0703105105