Will a Computer Actually Work on Logic Gates Running on Water?

The wet computer can add four-digit binary numbers.
Loukia Papadopoulos

YouTuber Steve Mould always brings us the funkiest, coolest, and funniest science experiments and explanations and always portrays them in a way that is accessible and easy to understand. For this latest edition of his YouTube show, Mould brings us a computer made of water that actually works.

"Computers add numbers together using logic gates built out of transistors. But they don't have to be! They can be built out of greedy cup siphons instead! I used specially designed siphons to works as XOR and AND gates and chained them together so they add 4 digit binary numbers," Mould explained in the video's description.

The experiment is not without its fair share of problems. On the first try, water siphons down the back on one of the gates causing a so-called "memory leak" (pun intended!). Mould also jokes that people might be using his water computer to mine crypto and slowing it down.

But after a few careful tweaks Mould gets the water computer running like a charm. Perhaps the funniest part is how the computer resets. We will give you a hint: it requires removing all the water from the gates. Watch now and see for yourself.

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