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Graphene - taking computers to over 100x faster

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

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Graphene - taking computers up to 100x faster

I'm aware you chaps know about Graphene as Silicon replacement. Just watched this documentary and there's a few minutes about Graphene at the atomic level, how amazingly conductive it is, and how it will shape future generations of micro processors, allowing computing speeds many many times quicker than today.

From 39:27


http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01fq06h/How_It_Works_Plastic_How_It_Works/
 
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If it works with micro processors it could speed up everything really, from crazy large computers to even the microprocessors in credit cards.

Ridiculous when you think about it.
 
I read about this a while ago but i heard they had problems where the voltage flows or something.
 
Having spent a summer working with the stuff, we're a ways of graphene as a silicon replacement yet.

The other possibilities are endless though. For instance, graphene is water tight, and it is possible to crate a compound using it that when water is passed over it, a voltage is generated.
Coat the inside of the UKs main water pipes with this, and hey presto. Next to no water loss, and additional power generation.
 
Just finishing up a masters in the graphene metal-insulator transition and about to start a PhD in nanosilcon.... Isn't it funny how this form of carbon was discovered using sellotape xD!...ultra-low tech physics. The main focus of research that I am aware of is using it for new-generation touch screens and circuitry ....combine this stuff with quantum-bits....future computing is going to be nuts :s *fingers crossed
 
PGdude said:
The only step after that would be moving from electricity to photons.
Click to expand...

I doubt that is the only step. We are limited by both the physical world but also our imaginations too. THere are very clever people who think they know the limits but given the way the universe seems to prove endlessly complex it seems that there will always be somewhere else to go, maybe not just as fast as we have done in the last half century or so!
 
Meh, I remember a couple of years before dual core CPUs came out seeing a Science Programme that predicted 20GHz single core CPUs by 2010 and that turned out to be bollards, same as 98% of the stuff they had on Tomorrow's World (still waiting for my Robot Butler and flying car).

Until I see a working prototype I won't be getting excited.
 
estebanrey said:
Meh, I remember a couple of years before dual core CPUs came out seeing a Science Programme that predicted 20GHz single core CPUs by 2010 and that turned out to be bollards, same as 98% of the stuff they had on Tomorrow's World (still waiting for my Robot Butler and flying car).

Until I see a working prototype I won't be getting excited.
Click to expand...


Graphene is exciting stuff, though.
 
PGdude said:
Graphene is exciting stuff, though.
Click to expand...


Maybe but having one property that would make a great CPU doesn't mean it has all the other properties needed to make one (someone mentioned voltage problems above).

I hope it happens, I do, I'm just not banking on it that's all. Science of the future programmes tend to be very speculative and hopeful. It was only a few years ago a similar show on the Beeb was predicting we'd all have 4k TVs in our homes by now and whilst they exist they cost £60k and are only bought by specialist industries.

And there in lies the rub, even if this technology works and passes all the tests you're looking at a good 10 years of mega-expensive, ultra specialist kit before they even consider it ready for the mainstream.

There isn't really the need for the CPU power we have now really, let alone 100 times faster.
 
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