computronium

Noun

computronium (uncountable)

1. Programmable matter.
   • Toffoli says he thinks of CAM-8 as "computronium" — a flexible "element" capable of mimicking all other elements and particles, real or imagined.1990 February 17, I. Amato, “Computronium: the 'element' that imitates”, in Science News, volume 137, number 7, page 103
2. A hypothetical material engineered to maximize its use as a computing substrate; matter perfectly optimised for computation.
   • The process of making computers on ever smaller scales, using physical degrees of freedom and the laws of physics in an ever more efficient manner, can be thought of as a refining process. In this process we are trying to refine and concentrate the computing power inherent in the laws of physics....1992, Norman Margolus, “Fundamental Physical Constraints on the Computational Process”, in BC Crandall, James Lewis, editors, Nanotechnology: Research and Perspectives, The MIT Press, →ISBN, page 202
   • They should be working on uploading and solving the nanoassembly conformational problem instead. Then we could turn all the available dumb matter into computronium and use it for processing our thoughts. Long-term, it's the only way to go.2005, Charles Stross, Accelerando, Ace Books, Chapter 1, "Lobsters"