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Computer Chips Made of Wood Promise Greener Electronics
alphadogg writes: Researchers in the U.S. and China have developed semiconductor chips that are almost entirely made out of a wood-derived material. In addition to being biodegradable, the cost of production is much less than conventional semiconductors. According to the NetworkWorld report: "The researchers used a cellulose material for the substrate of the chip, which is the part that supports the active semiconductor layer. Taken from cellulose, a naturally abundant substance used to make paper, cellulose nanofibril (CNF) is a flexible, transparent and sturdy material with suitable electrical properties. That makes CNF better than alternative chip designs using natural materials such as paper and silk, they argue in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications."
Except that this substrate is not being used for Si based semiconductors, but for GaAs instead. Also, using the wood-based substrate means that you can use 99% less of the semiconductor material (GaAs which is rarer than Si, and also poisonous). This will make specific classes of electronic devices (specifically radio and microwave frequency devices) much cheaper, and much less hazardous to dispose of, which is a big win.
just a ghost in the machine.
Henp fibers have been shown to work far better than just wood. And as your boat melts you can smoke it...