Computers Definition and 244 Threads

I am new to the physics forums and this is my first post and it is sort of scary but hey. I am looking at an emachines computer to buy. I like the look of it, it is well priced and seems to have possibilities to upgrade in the future. The one hangup is that i read on an online review that you...

When do you all think quantum computers will be a reality? Or I guess I should say when do you think they will be practical? And when this happens, do you think that Electrical Engineers and Computer Engineers will design them? Or do you think that there will be a completely new branch of...

One thing I've noticed about cleaning computers is that when they're left non-cleaned for a few months, there are 2 layers of dust. One layer is easily blown away with pressurized air. The problem I'm facing now is this second layer. It's like, impossible to remove without using a surface like a...

Penrose seems to argue that computers will never have minds or understanding as humans do due to Godel's Incompleteness theorem. I think he is right about this one as computers just are formal systems. But why then are there still so many critics that claim that AI is possible?

I was scanning Wikipedia recently looking for a real mass particle smaller then a photon for faster then photon travel or FTL. I found this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superbradyon but would not be possible to tangebly see without PetaFLOP computers or something faster then that? Would we...

Need info on "Photonic Computers" Any info would be GREAT (especially explaining their difference to Quantum and Regular computing)

my grandparents house has a problem of getting hit by lightning, unfortunately this time it fried their computer and TV (even with a surge protector?) as for the computer, i was wondering what could be salvagable from it, im assuming the motherboard will be useless, but what about the...

Wow 3 days ago I just left my computer to bring a cup of tea for myself, but when I came back :bugeye: :bugeye: :bugeye: lots of windows were opened and the place of files on the desktop were changed :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Please tell me they were done by a ghost...

How do computers evaluate determinants of large matrices? The cofactor method seems like it would be too time consuming. Does anyone know?

Computers Are Solemn. Behind its face, the computer solemnly performs rites of computation. Every electric motion is a ritual in the ancient tradition of computing. There is no room for joy in the mind of the computer. Humble and subdued are the things written on the banner of its mind...

How can I make 2 computer see each other using only one cable, not the cable like a printer's, but the one you use for internet connection ? How to do that ? I can connect to a remote computer with ip 192.168.1.1 ex, but taht way not let me share files, copy files to my own computer, I can...

Do you know why whenever I come to codeguru.com, google.com does always establish a connection to my computer, I see this when i netstat on cmd Thank you

check this out http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7668517/ pretty cool huh>?

They say that to understand the history of something, you can't be too close to the events. So I am referring to something that happened about 20 years ago, namely when pascal and turbo pascal started to become popular and started to substitute basic as the programming language for home/PC...

What are the most fundamental assumptions behind strong AI? Would you agree that strong AI claims: 1) the most fundamental assumption is that cause and effect governs all (macroscopic) physical systems 2) the brain is a physical system which is essentially a computational mechanism. What...

When you use a computer, your intelligence in many areas effectively increases drastically. You have unlimited memory as fast as you can type, you can find many kinds of information in seconds, and you can write or use programs to perform many mental tasks (for example, a human armed with a...

The math and science center I attend is cleaning shop and finally getting rid of the old computers that were laying around. There are tons of monitors and computers both mac/pc none faster than Pentium 2. Most of it is junk by itself but they all work. I need some ideas of what to do with all of...

Does a virtual "LoJack" for computers exist? By means of their informational nature, does not a computer trade data concerning their identity with whomever they come in contact with? Such a communication, if it exists, could put an eventual damper on hardware cybertheft.

Quantum computers? Are quantum computers depenent on the many worlds interpretations of QM? I ask these because i read somewhere about Max Tegmark and he said something about quantum computers wil be the first device to utilize the computing power of other universes.That the computer is using...

Is foreign hardware different from american hardware or is the only real difference that the power supply is adapted to 220V instead of 110V and the keyboard layout is changed? When I was in france last time and I was working on a friend's computer and I went into the BIOS it went to US...

Do you think computers cause... blindness, heartattacks, cancer, you know -- all of the ones that everyone include while generalizing causes. Do you think that research will show, that just like cell phones, computers can affect us in a negative way?

My friend has a problem. He has a computer that has one working internet and his other computer's internet is down. They are in separate rooms but are connected by an extension cord. They are both connected to the same modem, any ideas why one is working and the other isnt? (They share the same...

I was impressed by the work of A. Wiles on the last Fermat's theorem, with the demonstration of the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture. On the other hand, I think it is very interesting the demonstration of the four colours theorem by means of a lot of computer's work. It seems to me that these...

Does anyone foresee the possibility for a human disease or parasites to affect computers? Considering the size of the circuitry etched into chips now - with the Base of transistors only 3 atoms thick - it would seem that if some bacteria or virus were to mutate in just the right way it might...

Will humans "need" computers in the future? My question is will humans relay on computers so much in the future that they will think they can't live without them? Some people say we "need" them, but the first humans didn't.

When will we have commonplace brain-controlled computers, "electronic telepaths"? How will that revolution affect society?

Hi everyone. I just wanted to start a new Thread on this interesting field of physics. I'll be glad to here your opinions, news and ... on this area. Thanks a lot :wink:

I need some general overviews of what i can do for science fair next year. I am particularily intereseted in Computers and technology. College science fair ideas would be greatly appreciated. Anything that requires a challenge and is an interesting technology science fair idea is GREAT. What...

Hey guys! Is there a way to access computers behind a router? I mean.. I know I have some specific IP address that the router has, and then the router gives each of my computers an IP. Is there a way to access the computers behind the router from the internet? Thanks :)

Say I have 5 computers. How many permutations are available?

How do computers do math? I mean, it seems kinda like the math part is the most basic of the functions of the computer. But I mean, how does it KNOW that 1+1=2? To give a background, I understand binary: 1+1=10. I have a rudimentary understanding of assembly, I tried to program in it...

I am wondering if it is possible to hook up 2 computers, with 2 separate cable modems, under the same broadband account. I already have broadband, and want to hook a second computer. I figured an easy way to do this, without running CAT 5 all over the place, and not hassling with wireless...

Earlier tonight Tsunami's laptop started producing a very high pitched squealing sound. She thought it might be her hard drive - it did sound a bit like a bearing failure - but to me it sounded more like audio feedback; it wasn't, but it sounded much like that. Then, about an hour ago I had the...

Is there any possibilites that we can command our computers through Mind?

Hello, this is OnRadioactiveWaves First and foremost, sorry if this isn't the right place for this. I have a networking problem. All I need to do is network 2 computers to be able to talk, and both get dsl and share a printer. I have 2 new dell computers with their own network card plus...

Two things. I dislike and have heard bad things about schools forcing kids to rent out of date laptops even if they already have one. Also from my experience online college courses are terrible. You feel so distant from the class and the teacher. Most online courses use portals like...

If anyone knows of some place that gives away computers for free on a nationwide basis, i.e. not restricted to people in a given state (or only to Mass residents) please let me know. I'm trying to get laptops for Leukemia patients who are in for extended hospital stays. They will be going to...

Does blankly staring at a computer screen for hours without moving count as sleep? :wink: If not, I really should go to sleep now 3 am, signing off

I see in an article on computers that because of faster operating speeds and more transistors per chip, the heat generated will be too much for silicon processors to handle thus a need for something that will and they believe man-made diamond based computer chips are the answer. Is this the...

I’m interested in current state and progress_point of research in field of using DNA and other Bio materials in developing informational systems (or applying it in some areas/ researches of IT). There’s lot’s of talking going on involving this subject, but no real information. Using google to...

Do you think we rely on computers to do too much for us. Remember the Y2K scare, when wackos thought the world would end when all the computers shut down? The problem was averted, but the question remains. I am espescially interested in hearing younger posters feelings as opposed to those of...

There really isn't much to put in the text of this post except to repeat the subect. Are computers coscious, or rather, could SOME computer PROGRAMS be conscious?

I don't know where to post this thread but I think I better post here. http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.html The virus is spreading really fast and has already infected lots of computers here. This virus was found few days ago in USA. Some of my friends got this...

If a computer can judge a work of art, then I am sure it ,itself, can also produce art. That is, if it can decide who is creative then it itself can be creative. The key to creativity is making analogies. Deciding which is good or what is bad. Just random mixture of ideas is not any creative...