Intel patents cosmic ray detectors on-a-chip. What a relief.

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/248214898/

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

That great perpetrator of worldly ills, the cosmic ray, has at last met its match. Intel has patented the concept of an on-chip detector of cosmic rays which would auto-correct for soft errors caused by the cosmic ray's interference. Apparently Intel is concerned that cosmic rays -- those perky particles from space that blast through the Earth's atmosphere and tamper with your precious bodily fluids -- are going to become "a major limiter of computer reliability in the next decade" as chips get smaller and smaller. The rays have already been proved to interfere with electronics in small ways, so while Intel doesn't have method for building an actual cosmic ray detector yet, they're certainly getting a jump on the problem with this patent. We know we'll certainly be sleeping better at night.

[Via Slashdot]

 

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