Ed Storms -- who Oracle-likes sometimes reads but does not respond to
Vortex these days -- pointed out that I am wrong about clocks. They
do have moving parts:
"All machines that measure time MUST have moving parts. In a digital
watch, the moving part is the vibration of a quartz crystal. In the
Cesium clock, the moving part is the vibration of electrons. Only the
scale has changed."
So, if we define a "part" as something with mass, I wonder if we can
measure time with photons instead of electrons.
All computers have clocks, so they all have moving parts by this
definition. I have read that people are trying to develop computers
without clocks, in which every component works at its own pace, like
people in Swedish automobile factory, or people playing tennis
without a net. It is hard for me to imagine how a clock-less computer
would work.
Most modern computer displays have no moving parts. The Kindle book
readers have internal mechanical movement of black and white beads. I
consider that a retrograde design, that will not last for long. The
resolution is remarkable but the contrast is poor.
- Jed
