On hybrid circuits exploiting thermistive properties of slime mould

Walter, Xavier Alexis; Horsfield, Ian; Mayne, Richard; Ieropoulos, Ioannis A.; Adamatzky, Andrew

Abstract

Slime mould Physarum polycephalum is a single cell visible by the unaided eye. Let the slime mould span two electrodes with a single protoplasmic tube: if the tube is heated to approximately ≈40 °C, the electrical resistance of the protoplasmic tube increases from ≈3 Mω to ≈10,000 Mω. The organisms resistance is not proportional nor correlated to the temperature of its environment. Slime mould can therefore not be considered as a thermistor but rather as a thermic switch. We employ the P. polycephalum thermic switch to prototype hybrid electrical analog summator, NAND gates, and cascade the gates into Flip-Flop latch. Computing operations performed on this bio-hybrid computing circuitry feature high repeatability, reproducibility and comparably low propagation delays.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 16, 2016
• Publication Date: Apr 6, 2016
• Deposit Date: Mar 21, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 21, 2016
• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Electronic ISSN: 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Research (part of Springer Nature)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 23924
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep23924
• Keywords: hybrid circuits, slime mould
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/924236
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep23924
• Contract Date: Mar 21, 2016