computron
:computron: /kom'pyoo-tron`/ n. 1. [common] A notional unit of computing
power combining instruction speed and storage capacity, dimensioned
roughly in instructions-per-second times megabytes-of-main-store times
megabytes-of-mass-storage. "That machine can't run GNU Emacs, it doesn't
have enough computrons!" This usage is usually found in metaphors that
treat computing power as a fungible commodity good, like a crop yield or
diesel horsepower. See bitty box
, Get a real computer!
, toy
crank
2. A mythical subatomic particle that bears the unit quantity
of computation or information, in much the same way that an electron
bears one unit of electric charge (see also bogon
. An elaborate
pseudo-scientific theory of computrons has been developed based on the
physical fact that the molecules in a solid object move more rapidly as
it is heated. It is argued that an object melts because the molecules
have lost their information about where they are supposed to be (that
is, they have emitted computrons). This explains why computers get so
hot and require air conditioning; they use up computrons. Conversely, it
should be possible to cool down an object by placing it in the path of a
computron beam. It is believed that this may also explain why machines
that work at the factory fail in the computer room: the computrons there
have been all used up by the other hardware. (The popularity of this
theory probably owes something to the "Warlock" stories by Larry Niven,
the best known being "What Good is a Glass Dagger?", in which magic is
fueled by an exhaustible natural resource called `mana'.)
Jargon File Version 4.3.1, 29 JUN 2001 =
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