Abstract
We design and implement highly parallel algorithms that use light as the tool of computation. An ordinary xerox machine and a box of transparencies constitutes our computer. We find the maximum in a list of n-bit numbers of arbitrary length using at most n xerox copying steps. We decide, for any graph having n vertices and m edges, whether a 3-coloring exists in at most 2n + 4m copying steps. For large instances of problems such as the 3-color problem, this solution method may require the production of transparencies that display challengingly high densities of information. Our ultimate purpose here is to give hand tested ‘ultra-parallel’ algorithmic procedures that may provide useful suggestions for future optical technologies.
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Head, T. (2010). Using Light to Implement Parallel Boolean Algebra. In: Gao, Y., Lu, H., Seki, S., Yu, S. (eds) Developments in Language Theory. DLT 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6224. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14455-4_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14455-4_22
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