Your Next Computer May Be Made of Water
When Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of the University of Manchester developed graphene, it won them this year's Nobel Prize in physics. There were reasons for that. The one atom-thick substance, shaved from crystals, is possibly among the lightest-weight, most conducive and rugged materials on earth.
The avenues of development for the material include help in sequencing DNA and the possible creation of an extraordinary energy storage medium. But how can you make a computer out of the stuff? Just add water.
For those of you without advanced physics degrees, what that means is that you can use water in conjunction with graphene to create an on-off switch, a transistor.. How does a graphene/water transistor work? Take a wafer of graphene and slap it onto one of silicon and silicon dioxide, then send water into the tiny space between the two; the water backs away from the silicon toward the graphene, de-conducting the water, and breaking the connection.
Why is this important? Water is a safe, common element, so when and if the technology takes off, it would need, and create, less toxicity than current transistor technology. And that's nice. What's more compelling to the computing experience is that, in combination with radically extended storage possibilities, the graphene transistor has the potential to make computers tougher, much smaller and much faster than we have now. A device the size of tablet might carry the processing power and memory of a network of computers.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(
Atom
)
Popular Posts Last Week
-
Mooi hoor. Het ziet er naar uit dat er eindelijk een einde komt aan de totale chaos van gestalde fietsen op en rond Utrecht Centraal Station...
-
At FOOMA JAPAN 2011, Furukawa Kikou demonstrated SWITL, a pick-up and conveyor system using unique technology. SWITL scoops up and moves mat...
-
Alaska Airlines says it, like the rest of the aviation industry, has done everything it can to improve fuel efficiency but that can only do ...
-
Moving Planet was a day to put our demands for climate action into motion—marching, biking, skating—calling for the world to go beyond fossi...
-
New York City's current and former mayors highlight the revitalization of lower Manhattan in the days leading up to the 10th anniversary...
-
CGSearch is a mobile Green IT application that would enable users across United States to know and visually compare the air quality index, a...
-
Scientists may have found the cause of the world’s sudden dwindling population of bees – and cell phones may be to blame. Research conduc...
-
National Wildlife Federation Naturalist David Mizejewski explores the relationship between sea ice and polar bears. As continued global warm...
-
In New Orleans: Recovering From a Post-Katrina 'Brain Drain' : News : Breaking : Climate Central
Popular Posts This Month
-
With only one day left to the baptism of the greenest campaign ship in the world Agaton Film & Television has produced this teaser to a ...
-
The Japanese government has issued the evacuation order on March 12 for the residents living within the 20 kilometer radius of the Fukushima...
-
At FOOMA JAPAN 2011, Furukawa Kikou demonstrated SWITL, a pick-up and conveyor system using unique technology. SWITL scoops up and moves mat...
-
CGSearch is a mobile Green IT application that would enable users across United States to know and visually compare the air quality index, a...
-
Mooi hoor. Het ziet er naar uit dat er eindelijk een einde komt aan de totale chaos van gestalde fietsen op en rond Utrecht Centraal Station...
-
Scientists may have found the cause of the world’s sudden dwindling population of bees – and cell phones may be to blame. Research conduc...
-
NASA's Juno spacecraft is on its way to Jupiter after being launched aboard an Atlas V rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,...
-
Lord James has claimed a mysterious gold bullion-backed body wants to invest £5bn in the UK – so what's the catch? The strange case of L...
-
For three days, fifty scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world came together to discuss and debate radical solutions t...
-
New York City's current and former mayors highlight the revitalization of lower Manhattan in the days leading up to the 10th anniversary...
Popular Posts All Time
-
National Wildlife Federation Naturalist David Mizejewski explores the relationship between sea ice and polar bears. As continued global warm...
-
New York City's current and former mayors highlight the revitalization of lower Manhattan in the days leading up to the 10th anniversary...
-
Leuk idee om de aandacht op een bedrijf te vestigen. Wire & Twine maakte een op zich mooi overzicht van 50 manieren waarmee ze u willen ...
-
In New Orleans: Recovering From a Post-Katrina 'Brain Drain' : News : Breaking : Climate Central
-
NS en Greenwheels lanceren samen de eerste twee Volkswagen e-Golfs. De elektrische deelauto’s zijn vanaf donderdag 13 september te vinden bi...
-
Hundreds of young people converged on the United Nations in New York today as the General Assembly kicked off a high-level meeting devoted t...
-
At IBM's THINK Forum in NYC, Joshua Cooper Ramo, Managing Director, Kissinger Associates comments on not letting the risks of a networke...
-
Persons with disabilities must enjoy full human rights and fundamental freedoms and enabling them to do so benefits society as a whole, Depu...
-
Bridget van Kralingen, General Manager, IBM North America discusses Making the World Work Better at the IBM THINK Forum
-
Never before has a time in history been so significant to so many cultures, religions, scientists and governments. Beyond 2012 looks past th...
No comments :
Post a Comment