UCLA nanowire discovery could lead to faster, stronger, smaller electronics
By Darren Murph 
posted December 15th 2009 10:09AM
posted December 15th 2009 10:09AM
Advancements in silicon-germanium have been going on for years now, but a team at UCLA is convinced that their discovery really is "the next big thing." For scores now, microchip makers have struggled with miniaturizing transistors as the public at large demands that things get smaller and smaller. Thanks to researchers at the aforesaid university, it's looking like silicon-germanium nanowires could be the key to making the process a whole lot easier. According to study co-author Suneel Kodambaka, the new nanowires could "help speed the development of smaller, faster and more powerful electronics," also noting that they're so small that they can be "placed in virtually anything." Which is great, because the Adamo XPS is just entirely too pudgy.
It seems like every new discovery "could lead to faster, stronger, smaller electronics."
@tineras
Yeah, I there we're all sick of the "could's" and are really looking for the "remember when chips were 32nm/batteries only lasted 7 hours/you couldn't travel in tubes?" era.
But seriously, I won't believe it til I see it- though it seems like in the future Carbon Nanotubes FTW.
@tineras:
Isn't that a good thing?
Moore's law lives
"Calling Dick Tracy. Is your watch-phone getting a signal?"
...been waiting on the redesign on this old item, but I'll stick to the clipped to belt phone for now. What? You're not expecting a shoe-phone are you? Airport security won't allow it. ;p
There's a Daft Punk reference in here somewhere...
@ytilanigiroon lol denser, improved, swifter, strengthened?
Not interested in any more micronization of electronics. Without substantial inroads to longer stronger batterie, we are simply headed for a brick wall.
@WyldeChef Well, then look forward to some longer stronger batteries in the next couple years. I hear the next generation solves all the problems with current battery technology.
@WyldeChef:
Smaller electronics means less power consumed, which means the same sized batteries can last longer.
smaller electronics might mean more garbage..... now the microchips are so small nobody is trying to repair them, just replacing for a new one and the old one is - garbage.....technology is developing so fast.... why? because they want to sell and not because they care for us.... and we try to keep up... why? beacuse our friends have it......more and more garbage with every new discovery on the planet..... it's stupid racing track and we are speeding up to the end.....
@miketimoff:
"smaller electronics might mean more garbage..... now the microchips are so small nobody is trying to repair them, just replacing for a new one and the old one is - garbage"
Don't be a moron. It's always been impossible to repair microchips. The only way to "repair" a circuit board is to remove the bad microchips and replace them with new ones.
I just took an intro to Nanotech class with Suneel Kodambaka as the professor. Great guy... hard midterms.
@anomoly
really? I was in that class too. the guy is a complete tool.
How come your average joe WASP never invents something in the US/world? not that I mind people from india/china/etcetera, it's just a bit annoying to be in the dumb white guy group you know, all we seem to do is hang on the internet making meaningless comments with no net gain.
And make movies about what's wrong with the environment and global warming or about US health care being fail (gore&moore), which again are just a movie versions of internet comments, or be in government or UN, again pretty pointless.
@Wwhat Why don't you stop bitching about it on the internet and do something about it yourself then?
@Wwhat
or just stop being dumb.
@(Unverified)
I'm waiting for a guy from india to invent a smartness pill
@Wwhat
there is more money to be made in keeping you dumb.
I know better than that.
I'm not a WASP (classical US acronym for 'white Anglo-Saxon Protestant') myself incidentally, I'm a WGA if you'd use such terms, (A for atheist).
And I was making some tongue-in-cheek remarks really.
Get back to me when it DOES lead to faster, stronger, smaller electronics.
Luke
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
sorry....