Diamond based CPUs? (81Ghz??)

Valtiel

Distinguished
Feb 28, 2005
1,170
0
19,280
I realize this is probably an old issue (I read a really old article from 2003) It stated that a CPU made of diamonds could scale to 81Ghz theoretically and run cooler to boot. So what's the deal why don't we make CPUs out of diamonds? Man can manufacture diamonds right. I guess it would still be crazy expensive, that's the one of the reasons that comes to mind. But that doesn't mean that a incredibly microscopic part of the market could use that type of CPU. Code-breaking comes to mind, can never have a CPU that can brute force a code cipher too fast right?
 

paladin13

Distinguished
Feb 9, 2006
24
0
18,510
Theorerically a pretty pwerful PC (4 GHz?) need about 80+ years in order to crack a 128bit Encryption (most common in many SSL sites)
a 81GHz processor would need 20 times less which is 4 years. Considering the fact that every month the key in the encryption changes though, I do not think that a 81GHz processor is that much of a threat.
For 64it encryption though, a 81GHz CPU would be a real threat.

If I recall correctly, in U.S. and Canada 128bit encryption is forbidden.
Am I right?
 

grafton

Distinguished
May 26, 2004
20
0
18,510
better not be i have some stuff at home that can push 448 bit triple layered( three different algorythems)
 

Julian33

Distinguished
Jun 23, 2006
214
0
18,680
I guess 64-bit encryption is pretty easily breakable now if you have a specialist device like an FPGA configured to do it for you. Better yet, get a quantum computer, which I'd like to bet certain government agencies have breaking codes right now :wink:

As for why not make CPU's with diamonds, I'd imagine it would be a pretty expensive thing to make, much more so than silicon based CPUs.
 

rcs2749

Distinguished
Jul 11, 2006
54
0
18,630
As for why not make CPU's with diamonds, I'd imagine it would be a pretty expensive thing to make, much more so than silicon based CPUs.


Man made diamonds have the same properties as natural ones and they are alot cheaper.
 

killermedic

Distinguished
Dec 26, 2006
12
0
18,510
If I remember right, back when I used to contribute to distributed computing for cracking RSA 128 bit it was ILLEGAL to EXPORT the 128bit technology, not Illegal to use in the USA.
 

Julian33

Distinguished
Jun 23, 2006
214
0
18,680
Ah, I wasn't aware of that.

Maybe it will happen someday, but it would probably be very costly to retool to use them now. The big CPU makers don't like to take risks when they don't need to, so I'll bet they will push Silicon for all it's worth, until they have no other choice but to change material.
 

LAN_deRf_HA

Distinguished
Nov 24, 2006
492
0
18,780
I don't think it really compares to the 1 THz+ speeds BDT processors could deliver, for probably a lot less... wonder if you could combine the two ideas?
 

Whizzard9992

Distinguished
Jan 18, 2006
1,076
0
19,280
I realize this is probably an old issue (I read a really old article from 2003) It stated that a CPU made of diamonds could scale to 81Ghz theoretically and run cooler to boot. So what's the deal why don't we make CPUs out of diamonds? Man can manufacture diamonds right. I guess it would still be crazy expensive, that's the one of the reasons that comes to mind. But that doesn't mean that a incredibly microscopic part of the market could use that type of CPU. Code-breaking comes to mind, can never have a CPU that can brute force a code cipher too fast right?

Chemically, a diamond is just a very large clump of Carbon molecules. Carbon is highy abundant in the universe, and on earth.

See this wiki picture.

At any rate, Carbon nano tubes share a lot of the same properties as diamonds, however they are easier to manufacture and manage. I'd say that the diamond processor will evolve to the CNT processor. You'll likely see CNT semiconductors first appear in some sort of flash-RAM.
 

bluntside

Distinguished
Mar 22, 2006
744
0
19,010
I understand how a cpu utlizes Silicone with all of its transistors and such, but Diamonds? How is that even possible>??
Besides that would one hell of an expensive CPU
:lol:

Perhaps in a couple of years once technology really kicks off, enthusiasts might be able to OC at those speeds. Do you have like a diphagram or sum kind of link thats explains how that 81 Ghz cpu is constructed and how it works??
Im just really fasinated on this topic.
 
As for why not make CPU's with diamonds, I'd imagine it would be a pretty expensive thing to make, much more so than silicon based CPUs.

Man made diamonds have the same properties as natural ones and they are alot cheaper.

Believe it or not, natural diamonds are one of the more abundant precious stones available. It's just that the prices or diamonds are kept in check by the diamond cartels and jewelry industry as they work to keep availability low and jack up the price. In reality, natural rubies and emeralds command a much higher price to compared to a diamond of the same carat weight. Industrial diamonds are actually reasonably priced, compared; but I don't know if the quality (industrial vs d color flawless) of the diamond would make a difference for a cpu. So, even though synthetic diamonds are chemically the same a natural diamonds, I also wonder if there is something inherent in the process that would make them less desireable for a cpu.

Julian33 has it right, silicon is the 2nd most available conductive element on earth right after oxygen.
 

dsidious

Distinguished
Dec 9, 2006
285
0
18,780
True, but there are distributed solutions for this, for example you can use a few thousand networked computers or a supercomputer with a few thousand processors. I expect that certain government agencies in some countries have already solved the problem using plain silicon. Here's an even simpler solution: get 256 computers, each of them is assigned an ASCII code and tries passwords starting with that code. You don't even need a network, just a little planning...
 

Whizzard9992

Distinguished
Jan 18, 2006
1,076
0
19,280
As for why not make CPU's with diamonds, I'd imagine it would be a pretty expensive thing to make, much more so than silicon based CPUs.

Man made diamonds have the same properties as natural ones and they are alot cheaper.

Believe it or not, natural diamonds are one of the more abundant precious stones available. It's just that the prices or diamonds are kept in check by the diamond cartels and jewelry industry as they work to keep availability low and jack up the price. In reality, natural rubies and emeralds command a much higher price to compared to a diamond of the same carat weight. Industrial diamonds are actually reasonably priced, compared; but I don't know if the quality (industrial vs d color flawless) of the diamond would make a difference for a cpu. So, even though synthetic diamonds are chemically the same a natural diamonds, I also wonder if there is something inherent in the process that would make them less desireable for a cpu.

Julian33 has it right, silicon is the 2nd most available conductive element on earth right after oxygen.

Yeah the diamond industry is f'ed up.

Most scientists agree that when nano-technology really leaps foward, diamonds will be the first objects synthetically produced through nano-manufacturing, because they are the simplest compound.

In fact, there have even been a few fiction books (one prominent; the name eludes me now tho) that try and illustrate what a diamond-manufactured woprld would be like (Windows made of diamonds, etc).

At any rate, a lot of compounds can be manipulated to become semi-conductors, but silicon has special properties that make it a great candidate. An electric charge is nothing more than electrons moving across atoms, and it's not hard to encourage that through chemistry with normally non-conductive elements.
 

Khan48

Distinguished
Dec 22, 2006
9
0
18,510
Does the diamond processor use light or electricity?
Optic processors that use light are in the works and those obviously have the potential for ridiculous speeds as light can move so much more faster than electrons.
 

sailer

Splendid
Does the diamond processor use light or electricity?
Optic processors that use light are in the works and those obviously have the potential for ridiculous speeds as light can move so much more faster than electrons.

Don't know if they would use light or electricity, though carbon is a good electrical transmiter and since diamonds are merely very compressed carbon, they could use electricty. Beyond that, I haven't the faintest idea.
 

Valtiel

Distinguished
Feb 28, 2005
1,170
0
19,280
I understand how a cpu utlizes Silicone with all of its transistors and such, but Diamonds? How is that even possible>??
Besides that would one hell of an expensive CPU
:lol:

Perhaps in a couple of years once technology really kicks off, enthusiasts might be able to OC at those speeds. Do you have like a diphagram or sum kind of link thats explains how that 81 Ghz cpu is constructed and how it works??
Im just really fasinated on this topic.

I found this thread on another forum:

http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-7525.html

And here's what I read last night:

http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003Aug/gee20030827021485.htm

Basically what I got for limitations are a manufacturing process that takes quite a while, De Beers threatening the companies that would produce the superior quality diamonds at lower (much lower!) prices, and heat dissipation. It's very interesting I wouldn't be surprised if in the next 20 years or so we have some of these in the making 8O
 

Sethanis

Distinguished
Oct 20, 2006
38
0
18,530
Just think about all the hoopla that went on with the NSA and the owners of PGP, pretty good privacy, they got an injuction from the NSA not to sell their product anywhere, even in the USofA. Because the NSA could not crack it, then about halfway through the law suits the NSA droped there counter suits (hence the NSA descovered how to crack it) and it all disappeared off the radar!

As for coputational power, concidering that more and more puters are goin multicore there will come a time when u need quantum encryption to keep ur data safe from the average hacker, and even then it may not be safe!
 

ak47is1337

Distinguished
Jan 30, 2006
1,830
0
19,780
Just think about all the hoopla that went on with the NSA and the owners of PGP, pretty good privacy, they got an injuction from the NSA not to sell their product anywhere, even in the USofA. Because the NSA could not crack it, then about halfway through the law suits the NSA droped there counter suits (hence the NSA descovered how to crack it) and it all disappeared off the radar!

As for coputational power, concidering that more and more puters are goin multicore there will come a time when u need quantum encryption to keep ur data safe from the average hacker, and even then it may not be safe!
In my personal opinion, it's always easier to encrypt than to decrypt, so I think the technology will go both ways, as it's always a cat and mouse charade.
 

TRENDING THREADS