Slashdot Mirror
Single Molecule Transistor A Reality
Petersko writes "A team from the University of Alberta has proven for the first time that a single molecule can switch electrical currents off and on, a puzzle that scientists worldwide have been trying to crack for decades. The finding could revolutionize the field of electronics, providing a leap ahead for everything from computers to batteries to medical equipment."
It seems if it were a C8H10N4O2 molecule it would switch much faster.
Whooo! Yeah! Rock on! Go UofA!!! Oh, wait, is my Alumni pride supposed to be limited to sporting events? Also, UofC sucks.
So efficient is this potential new technology, said Wolkow, that "the question now about the battery life in your laptop would go away. Your battery today would run your computer all week or all month instead of three to four hours."
Of course, by the time we *can* build CPUs with this technology, we'll be able to build the equivalent of your current laptop into a watch or a cellphone - and the new generation of molecular-CPU laptops will be the same size, massively more powerful, and run for three to four hours. Doh.
Not only that, but because the microelectronics could eventually be made out of molecules, some computer parts could be biodegradable since molecules can be broken down into small bits.
"Made out of molecules"? What do you think they're made out of now? Rainbows and unicorns?
That said, this is damn cool. Miniturization is unstoppable! (At least until these molecular transistors become used in everything - I'm not quite sure where we'll go from there.)
Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
Holy shit, if this is the biggest thing, I can't wait to see their other work.
Imagine if you were asked to operate an ordinary light switch using the passenger side rear corner of a dump truck while blindfolded.
Sounds like a great drinking game.