Researchers in the US have built a fully functioning computer that runs like clockwork - but instead of electrons, it operates using the movement of tiny magnetised water droplets.
The computer works using a rotating motherboard that is a tiny maze of iron bars held in oil between to glass slides. Power is created using water droplets infused with magnetic nanoparticles that are pulled from the flipping of the electromagnetic field each time the clock is turned. With the synchronized movement and turning of the clock, the water droplets march one step at a time following a predetermined logic of the computer system.
The polarity of the bars changes every time the magnetic field turns, allowing the droplets to move through the maze and running forever.
The computer system works with clockwork precision and researchers said they could still reduce the size of the computer to allow them to develop chips using smaller droplets and increase its usability.