Bubble-Powered Computer May Improve Chemical Testing

A computer that carries out calculations using tiny bubbles instead of electricity has been developed by US researchers. The microfluidic computer performs calculation by squeezing bubbles through tiny channels etched into a chip. It can perform all of the logical operations needed to make a general-purpose computer. In practise, such a computer would be much bigger than a PC and about a thousand times slower. Nevertheless, the bubble-based computer could lead to improved microfluidic technology for chemical analysis