The World’s Smallest Computer

The World’s Smallest Computer

Key Points:

• How many computers can fit into a grain of rice?
• The University of Michigan beats IBM and still holds the title.
• Speed up the snail study process with this nanocomputer.
• What side of the small computer debate are you on?

How small does a computer need to be to impress you? Small enough to sit in the palm of your hand? The size of a silver dollar coin? What if we told you it was smaller than a grain of rice? Or is it smaller than that?

It might be the smallest on record, and IBM demands a re-examination of what constitutes a computer. In today’s ‘Interruption Of The Day,’ Curtis Hyde, Sales and Marketing Director with Colorado Computer Support, reveals the size of the world’s smallest computer.

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What Is The World’s Smallest Computer?

Back in June 2018, CNET, The Daily Mail, The Insider, Vice, The Verge, and even Popular Mechanics were going crazy and reporting about the world’s smallest computer. It seems as though the University of Michigan created a computer that was just 0.3 mm long.

According to the Daily Mail, “The University of Michigan has beaten IBM in tiny computing by producing the world’s smallest computer that is just 0.3mm long. Researchers created a ‘microdevice’ that is completely dwarfed by a grain of rice. However, both IBM and the university are unsure if their devices qualify as a computer because they lose all programming and data once power is turned off.” [1]

That device from the University of Michigan is so tiny it can’t utilize a conventional radio antenna. It is one-tenth the size of IBM’s smallest computer version. For it to receive and transmit any data, it must use visible light.

What Was The Purpose Of This Nano Computer?

The Michigan scientists that created the small computer were looking for different ways to treat and monitor cancer. Other areas of interest focused on tiny snail studies, biochemical process monitoring, oil reserve monitoring, and pressure sensing in the eye for diagnosing glaucoma.

Its temperature sensor precision design, defined with electronic pulses, converts temperatures into specific time intervals. Those intervals are measured and sent by the base station, which converts them into a temperature.

The most significant disadvantage and drawback of the new style of microdevices are when they lose power. A conventional computer, once unplugged, still retains its data and program. That’s not the case for the world’s smallest computer when it’s turned off or loses power.

The Question Still Remains, Is It A Computer?

Since the story broke in the summer of 2018. There remain no more reports or debates between IBM and the University of Michigan. In some circles, the belief is that the world’s smallest computer is genuinely a computer.

However, IBM still holds to its initial position that when the power to the device gets turned off, it loses programming and data. And based on that, it should not be classified as a computer.

Get Any Size Computer Help From Colorado Computer Support

When your network goes offline, how quickly can it recover once the power’s been restored? An hour? A day? Longer? Computer advances, whether it’s size, speed, or performance, will never eliminate the need for IT computer support.

It doesn’t matter who created your computer or its size. Colorado Computer Support is always available to help. Contact us today or call (719) 310-3035 to schedule a meeting time.

[1] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5875871/Worlds-smallest-computer-revealed-Incredible-image-shows-tiny-machine-dwarfed-grain-rice.html