Electronics using heat rather than charge for carrying information ?

[Ryuk1990]

Electronics using heat rather than charge for carrying information!?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=magnetism-confirmed-to-control-the-flow-of-heat

So the article states it's been confirmed that magnetism controls heat. It also mentions that future electronics could use heat as an information carrier instead of charge.

How would this work? What does that mean for electrical engineers? Would EEs begin learning heat information signal control in universities or would some other discipline take over?

 

[gneill]

Thermal circuits are easily modeled by equivalent electronic circuits (the same forms of equations describe both domains), so EEs will be sitting pretty. Fire up Spice and solve your thermal circuits!

 

[Ratch]

Ryuk1990,

So the article states it's been confirmed that magnetism controls heat. It also mentions that future electronics could use heat as an information carrier instead of charge.

How would this work? What does that mean for electrical engineers? Would EEs begin learning heat information signal control in universities or would some other discipline take ove

Isn't that a fancy way of saying infrared control. Don't we have that today to control TVs? Don't EEs learn infrared techniques now? What's new?

Ratch

 

[davenn]

Ryuk1990,

Isn't that a fancy way of saying infrared control. Don't we have that today to control TVs? Don't EEs learn infrared techniques now? What's new?

Ratch

no this isn't optical (wireless)
this is within a physical "circuit"

Dave

 

[Ratch]

Ryuk1990,

no this isn't optical (wireless)
this is within a physical "circuit"

OK, then how about thermostats for controlling coolent flow in automobiles or furnace heating in buildings? Honeywell and others make zillions of heat controls for a variety of applications. Ratch

 

[256bits]

I think there is something quantum about what Ryuk1990 has posted.

 

[Ryuk1990]

I think there is something quantum about what Ryuk1990 has posted.

Yes, but aren't EEs concerned with quantum mechanics when designing nanoelectronics?

 

[256bits]

Yes, but aren't EEs concerned with quantum mechanics when designing nanoelectronics?

Doesn't that answer your question. Specialized EE dealing with the very small. For the majority of EE's this is not applicable.

 

[sophiecentaur]

A bubble jet printer came to mind. Boil blobs of ink to transfer information (printed word) onto paper using electronically generated heat.