A chemical computer, also called reaction-diffusion computer, BZ computer (stands for Belousov–Zhabotinsky computer) or gooware computer is an unconventional computer based on a semi-solid chemical "soup" where data are represented by varying concentrations of chemicals. The computations are performed by naturally occurring chemical reactions. So far it is still in a very early experimental stage, but may have great potential for the computer industry.

The simplicity of this technology is one of the main reasons why it in the future could turn into a serious competitor to machines based on conventional hardware. A modern microprocessor is an incredibly complicated device that can be destroyed during production by no more than a single airborne microscopic particle. In contrast a cup of chemicals is a simple and stable component that is cheap to produce.^{[citation needed]}

In a conventional microprocessor the bits behave much like cars in city traffic; they can only use certain roads, they have to slow down and wait for each other in crossing traffic, and only one driving field at once can be used. In a BZ solution the waves are moving in all thinkable directions in all dimensions, across, away and against each other. These properties might make a chemical computer able to handle billions of times more data than a traditional computer. An analogy would be the brain; even if a microprocessor can transfer information much faster than a neuron, the brain is still much more effective for some tasks because it can work with a much higher amount of data at the same time.^{[citation needed]}