Analog Computing: The Comeback???

by Prof. Oren Raz

WIS

at Condensed Matter Seminar

Mon, 24 Mar 2025, 11:10
Sacta-Rashi Building for Physics (54), room 207

Abstract

One of the best signals that a scientific topic becomes "hot" is that Nature Publishing Group opens a new journal dedicated to this topic. Last August, the first issue of the new journal "Alternative Computing" from the Nature family was released. Indeed, In the last decade there have been several efforts to use physical systems as 'physical computers': D-Wave is using super-conducting qubits as an adiabatic quantum (or non-quantum?) computer, the Israeli company Light-Solver tries to use lasers in finding optimal solutions to optimization problems, HP is developing memristor computation, 'Natural Computing' is developing a chip that is based on thermal computing, companies like Toshiba and Fujitsu are commercializing products like `Bifurcation machines' and `Digital annealers', and so on... Are we indeed seeing the `comeback' of analog computers? In the talk I will discuss the physical ideas behind some of these machines and try to provide some intuition and understanding on their advantages and disadvantages.

Created on 13-03-2025 by Bar Lev, Yevgeny (ybarlev)
Updaded on 13-03-2025 by Bar Lev, Yevgeny (ybarlev)