Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
4.6 Media of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Type: A Neural
Network Architecture
The most famous among the chemical reaction-diffusion media used to create
information processing devices are the media of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky type.
Dynamics of this environment is based on the oxidation of an organic compound
(malonic acid C
3
H
4
O
4
) by an inorganic oxidant (sodium or potassium bromate),
catalyzed by transition metal ions (mostly iron). Schematically, the reaction can be
described by the following equation:
Fe
C
3
H
3
BrO
4
þ
H
þ
!
C
3
H
4
O
4
þ
NaBrO
3
þ
þ
CO
2
:
H
2
O
In fact, the Belousov-Zhabotinsky process is a set of intermediate reactions, the
exact number of which has not yet been fully established.
Let us consider the simplest version of the chemical reaction-diffusion
medium—a flat quasi two-dimensional layer (Fig.
4.7
). For a clearer understanding
of the information properties of such a system, it is convenient to subdivide it into
microvolumes with linear dimensions smaller than the diffusion length of the
medium. This value
Fig. 4.7 Neural network
architecture of the
Belousov-Zhabotinsky
medium
