One possible way this could happen is by combining an optical computer with the ternary logic system.

An instrument which implements this approach may be described as a multivariate optical computer.

Materials may one day be used as switches in a new generation of optical computers.

Scott looked away, faced the computer's optical scan, and identified himself.

Three-dimensional crystals may one day be used in optical computers.

Although optical computers may now be a reality, it seems that the new technology is unlikely to replace electronics entirely.

There are quite a few instances of optical computers and successful use of them.

Moreover, optical computers will be far more flexible than their electronic counterparts, the researchers said.

And an optical computer would be able to retrieve that data far more quickly than today's computers.

Some scientists scoff at its commercial potential, while others foresee an optical computer on the market in a decade.