Realization Type: Procedural
All systems with realization type: procedural
Systems (15)
Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction computer
f(x) = boolean logic / reaction-diffusion computation (via chemical wave collisions)
The BZ reaction is an oscillating chemical system that produces propagating excitation waves in a thin layer of reagent (typically ferroin or ruthenium catalyst in acidified bromate/malonate). Signals...
Billiard-ball computer
f(x) = reversible boolean logic (Fredkin gate)
Proposed by Fredkin & Toffoli (1982). Balls travel on paths representing wires; presence/absence of a ball encodes a bit. Collisions at path intersections implement logic gates. Logically and thermody...
DNA computer (Adleman 1994)
f(x) = Hamiltonian path via strand hybridization
Leonard Adleman's 1994 demonstration solved the directed Hamiltonian path problem using DNA strand hybridization. Cities encoded as DNA sequences, flight connections as complementary strands. Massivel...
DNA strand-displacement computer
f(x) = boolean logic / neural network inference (via hybridization cascades)
Single-stranded DNA molecules in solution compute via toehold-mediated strand displacement: a short single-stranded 'toehold' on a partially double-stranded gate complex allows an input strand to inva...
Domino computer
f(x) = boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT)
Standing dominoes propagate a falling signal. Fan-outs split signals, and careful geometry implements AND and OR gates. Signal is one-shot — must reset by standing dominoes again. Speed: ~1 domino per...
Gate-based quantum computer
f(x) = unitary quantum computation / quantum algorithms (Shor factoring, Grover search, VQE)
A register of qubits — typically superconducting transmons cooled to ~10 mK — whose state is manipulated by sequences of microwave pulses implementing one- and two-qubit unitary gates. Any computation...
LEGO mechanical computer
f(x) = arbitrary digital logic / sequential game state
A fully mechanical computer built from LEGO Technic with no electronics. Binary memory is stored as lever positions on a rotating drum (rod logic); a read/write head flips levers to write bits and sen...
Liquid marble computer
f(x) = boolean logic / reversible gates (AND, XOR, OR, NOT, Toffoli, Fredkin)
Liquid marbles are millimetre-scale droplets coated with hydrophobic powder that makes them roll freely without wetting surfaces. Computation is collision-based: two marbles directed at an intersectio...
Marble computer
f(x) = binary arithmetic / boolean logic
Gravity-fed marble runs with rocker/seesaw gates implement binary arithmetic and logic operations. One marble = 1 bit. The rocker flips state on each pass, implementing half-adders and logic gates. Th...
Neuromorphic chip (Intel Loihi / IBM TrueNorth)
f(x) = spiking neural network computation
Silicon chips that mimic neural computation using spiking neurons and synaptic connections. Intel Loihi and IBM TrueNorth implement event-driven, asynchronous processing with on-chip learning capabili...
Pneumatic logic (Coanda-effect fluidics)
f(x) = boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT, NOR) via wall-attachment bistability
A jet of air entering a Y-shaped channel naturally attaches to one wall (the Coandă effect) and locks into that state by low-pressure recirculation. A small control jet on the opposite side provides e...
Quantum gate computer (superconducting qubits)
f(x) = unitary transformations / quantum algorithms
Superconducting qubits manipulated by microwave pulses to perform unitary operations. Quantum gates like Hadamard, CNOT, and phase gates enable quantum algorithms such as Shor's factoring and Grover's...
Reservoir computer
f(x) = temporal pattern recognition / dynamical system computation
Fixed nonlinear dynamical system (reservoir) coupled to a trained linear readout layer. Input drives the reservoir dynamics, output layer learns to extract desired computations. Echo state networks an...
Spaghetti sort
f(x) = total ordering of positive reals (sorting) in O(n) physical time
Cut n spaghetti strands to lengths proportional to the n values to be sorted. Gather them loosely in a fist and lower them vertically onto a flat table so all strands stand upright. Lower a flat hand ...
Water (fluidic) computer
f(x) = binary addition / boolean logic (AND, XOR)
Water levels in vessels encode binary digits; a siphon and slow drain combine to implement AND and XOR in a single cup-and-tube unit. A filled cup is a 1, an empty cup a 0. When two cups feed one cont...