a ternary logic

[kvipin]

hi there
this is my first post on this forum as such
i am a student of indian institute of technology kanpur , india

i am just wondering why we are still stuck with a binary choice ??

the fact as i see it is 3^n is much much greater than 2^n
but suppose ther was such a logic how the hell will anyone go about implementing it

any links or info regarding this will be highly appreciated !!

 

[crust]

If you wanted to do something like that, the simple on/off of current transistors would not be sufficient. Instead you would need some type of 3 state switch. I could imagine a RAM that used a voltage to correspond to the value, but the rest would be difficult.

 

[kvipin]

i appreciate the attempt crust made
but people i am looking for the most outlandish and most extraordinary although realistic thoughts that you get
i was myself trying to realise it in terms of organic molecules which change from one state to other , we just have to have 3 states which are interchangeable by application of appropriate current or voltage

also though somehow i may be able to achieve the ram model suggested by crust but he size factor is ther real thing which is going to market my product , this baby will be a little bigger than i want

p.s:: people i am still a student of electronics ( as much as everyone is )
i am not a pro so kindly develop your ideas a little bit when you reply

any reply will be highly appreciated

 

[bmcculla]

The most relevant idea I can think of is DNA which has 4 states. Each state coresponds to a different chemical in the chain. Recently some reasearch lab used DNA to do math calculations.

It would be neat if you could find a molecule that has 3 stable states that can be induced with electronic signals. It might be a viable storage medium.

Brent