HPE builds experimental 1,052-component optical processor — the biggest yet

The Ising approach is based on a century-­old model for how the magnetic fields of atoms interact to give rise to magnetism. The model envisions every atom as having a property called “spin” that prefers to point either up or down. In a ferromagnetic material, above a certain temperature, these spins are oriented randomly and are flipped repeatedly by heat. But when the temperature falls below a certain threshold, the interactions between the atoms dominate, and most of the spins settle down to point in the same direction.

Computers inspired by this model—so-called Ising machines—use such settling actions to arrive at answers to optimization problems. The problem to be solved is entered into the machine by tuning the interactions between its computational elements. These elements, the spins, are designed to be in one of two states and interact with one another until they settle into an optimal configuration that corresponds to a low-energy state.