Fluidic Logic

Fluidic logic (fluidics) uses specially designed fluid paths to perform logic operations, such as AND, OR, and NOT gates. In electronics logical operations underpin all the digital devices that depend on CPUs for their brains. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) we can quickly explore potential fluidic components.

CFD Simulation of a Fluidic AND GateCFD Simulation of a Fluidic AND Gate

OR Gate

A B Output
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1

A fluidic OR gate consists of two inputs, a sink, and an output.

Fluidic OR Gate: Velocity MagnitudeFluidic OR Gate: Velocity MagnitudeCFD simulation of A = 1, B = 0, Output = 1

Fluidic OR Gate: Velocity VectorsFluidic OR Gate: Velocity VectorsCFD simulation of A = 1, B = 0, Output = 1

AND Gate

A B Output
0 0 0
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1

A fluidic AND gate consists of two inputs, a sink, and an output.

Fluidic AND Gate: Velocity MagnitudeFluidic AND Gate: Velocity MagnitudeCFD simulation of A = 1, B = 1, Output = 1

Fluidic AND Gate: Velocity VectorsFluidic AND Gate: Velocity VectorsCFD simulation of A = 1, B = 1, Output = 1

NOT Gate

A Output
0 1
1 0

A fluidic NOT gate consists of one input, a source, a sink, and an output, similar to the AND gate.

Fluidic NOT Gate: Velocity MagnitudeFluidic NOT Gate: Velocity MagnitudeCFD simulation of A = 0, Output = 1

Fluidic NOT Gate: Velocity VectorsFluidic NOT Gate: Velocity VectorsCFD simulation of A = 0, Output = 1

Fluidic Circuits

With these basic logic building blocks you can develop more complex fluidic circuits, which would require careful impedance matching at each junction.