Optical Computer Made From Frozen Light

Scientists at Harvard University have shown how ultra-cold atoms can be used to freeze and control light to form the core — or central processing unit — of an optical computer. Optical computers would transport information ten times faster than traditional electronic devices, smashing the intrinsic speed limit of silicon technology. This new research could be a major breakthrough in the quest to create super-fast computers that use light instead of electrons to process information. Professor Lene Hau is one of the world’s foremost authorities on slow light. Her research group became famous for slowing down light, which normally travels at 186,000 miles per second, to less than the speed of a bicycle