The new study was conducted at the Bernal Institute of the University of Limerick’s (UL) in Ireland.
What have the scientists done?
Scientists have created a layer of molecules two thicknanometer. For comparison, this is 50,000 times thinner than a hair. Its specialty is that it has the ability to remember events as electrons pass through. As a result, switching probabilities and the values of on/off states are constantly changing in a molecular material. This is what provides a revolutionary alternative to conventional silicon-based digital switches that can be either on or off.
Digital brain concept. Illustration: en.freepik.com
The research team demonstrated the new materials and their properties using electrical measurements.
Ions-protons-electrons
By combining fast electron transfer with moreBy slow, diffusion-limited proton binding, scientists mimicked the new dynamic behavior of synapses at the molecular level. Calcium ions or neurotransmitters work in a similar way, the authors explain in the article.
The peculiarity of calcium ions is that they playan important role in the transmission of nerve impulses, muscle contractility, and participate in the process of blood clotting. In addition, they are cofactors for many enzyme reactions. Pathologists often use calcium levels to perform diagnostic and prognostic tests.
Brain. Illustration: en.freepik.com
The unique “behavior” of the material also reflects all the mathematical logic functions required for deep learning, a subset of machine learning within the framework of artificial intelligence.
Pavlov's reflex succeeded too
It turned out that the material successfully imitatedPavlovian synaptic behavior similar to stimulus and response. Recall that Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, a physiologist and Nobel Prize winner, discovered that dogs and other animals could be made to respond involuntarily to reward, which became the ideology of classical conditioning.
Digital brain concept. Illustration: en.freepik.com
As a result, scientists were able to imitate plasticitysynaptic neuron connections. This is where the transmission of electrical nerve impulses between two neurons occurs. Researchers have long known that silicon technology works very differently from the brain. That's why scientists have used new types of soft-molecule electronic materials to mimic brain-like computer networks.
Why is this needed?
The researchers mentioned that the method and the newThe material will be useful for the operation of dynamic molecular systems that will be controlled by other stimuli in the future, such as light. The development will allow futuristic (for now) materials of the future to change plasticity, remember and take on the shape of other objects.
“This is just the beginning. We are looking forward to the development of sustainable alternative technologies to solve serious problems in the fields of energy, environment and health,” the scientists conclude.
Read more:
A magnetic storm is about to hit Earth
Named the main danger of the lunar mission "Artemis"
The true meaning of mummification is revealed: all this time, scientists were wrong