The computers we use today use transistors and semiconductors to control electricity. Computers of the future may utilize crystals and metamaterials to control light. Optical computers make use of light particles called photons.
NASA scientists are working to solve the need for computer speed using light
Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. That's 982,080,000 feet per second -- or 11,784,960,000 inches. In a billionth of a second, one nanosecond, photons of light travel just a bit less than a foot, not considering resistance in air or of an optical fiber strand or thin film. Just right for doing things very quickly in microminiaturized computer chips.
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