Book Reviews
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Sunday, October 27, 2002
![[Item Permalink]](http://radio.weblogs.com/0112083/images/ur_bullet.gif){kind=small} -- Comment()
Cascading molecules drive IBM's smallest computer: "IBM researchers have created a simple computation engine that's more than 250,000 times smaller than the most advanced silicon circuitry. Called the world's smallest computer, the system relies on a "molecular cascade" that pushes a handful of carbon monoxide molecules across a copper surface to perform digital logic functions." [John Robb's Radio Weblog]
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What can computer errors cause? -- Comment()
There has been a lot of interest in what bad programming can cause: explosions, radiation overdoses, shooting down civilian aircraft, etc. Unfortunately there are a lot of urban legends about computer errors, and many of these legends are very loosely based on reality. My story about computing discusses this matter from the perspective of computational science. Can computer simulations be trusted? I also wrote an article about computer errors a couple years ago (in Finnish, titled "Uppoamisia ja räjähdyksiä"). The article was originally published in the Tietoyhteys magazine, and reprinted in the mathematics newsletter Solmu. That version is available on the web. A shortened version of this article is included in the first chapter of our textbook on numerical methods (in Finnish). Perhaps the best source for this topic is the Usenet newsgroup comp.risks.
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