Computing
is getting a little greener, thanks to a material called graphene.
New studies suggest
that integrating the "strongest material in the world" into computer
chips would allow them to run off of light. Currently, most chips require
electricity.
Researchers
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and IBM’s T.
J. Watson Research Center led the studies, which were published in Nature Photonics. The chip
uses incoming light to knock electrons out, converting them into electrical
energy.
According to MIT, the new chips could cut back on
power consumption and heat production. As another bonus, the chips could be
faster and cheaper to make.
This isn't the first we've heard about graphene. In
February, the European Union gave
Nokia a $1.35 billion grant to
develop the material, which is reportedly only one atom thick and 300 times
stronger than steel.
In 2010, two graphene researchers won the Nobel Prize in Physics for demonstrating how the transparent
and flexible material could be used to make touchscreens, light panels and
solar cells.
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