optical computer

American  

noun

1. an experimental computer that uses photons rather than electrical impulses to process data a thousand times faster than with conventional integrated circuits.

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Example Sentences

The prospect of a practical optical computer has languished, however, as scientists have struggled to make the light-based components needed to outshine existing computers.

From Scientific American

From the 1960’s onward Bell Labs and others spent a fortune designing optical computer parts, but ultimately their efforts bore little benefit.

From Scientific American

Together, such innovations could make possible optical computer networks far faster than today’s gigabit networks.

From New York Times

Dr. Zhang and others are pursuing applications that could drastically lower the cost and increase the performance of optical computer networks.

From New York Times

Such bowed bridges could be used to store information in an optical computer memory—with, for example, bowed up standing for one and bowed down standing for zero.

From Science Magazine