Researchers built a molecular film that stores 16,384 states — and used it to create an analog computer that works like a brain

Graphene molecule.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have successfully built a molecular film that stores 16,384 conductance states, According to TechXplore. It shows us a potential future where we go beyond the limits of classical binary and even up-and-coming quantum computing.

To put things into context, binary computing has a two-bit resolution, meaning it has only two possible states, 1 and 0, and it can store only one. On the other hand, quantum computing can represent 2^n states simultaneously, with n representing the number of qubits. So, if your quantum computer has four qubits, you can store up to 16 states. However, the study published in the Nature Journal says that this chip can handle 14-bit resolution (or 2^14). This means it can reliably store 16,384 states, all while using small amounts of energy.