New computer system modeled on human brain

BBC : Computers are growing ever larger and more powerful—but they are also requiring more and more energy to run. To improve efficiency, IBM researchers are looking to the human brain and its complex system of blood vessels and capillaries. Their design incorporates a compact, 3D structure through which “electronic blood” flows to both fuel the computer and cool it. Patrick Ruch and Bruno Michel, working at IBM’s Zürich laboratory, have now demonstrated a basic model of such a machine. The new design stacks the computer chips, with memory storage units and processors interwoven throughout the structure. To keep it from overheating, a system of tiny pipes allows a cooling liquid to flow through. They currently use an electrolyte that is charged via electrodes, then pumped throughout the computer, where it discharges its energy to the computer chips and carries away excess heat. The German supercomputer SuperMUC, which uses the new system of liquid cooling, consumes 40% less electricity than a traditional computer.