[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When the transistor was first invented it changed the world and led to the development of computers, smartphones and the internet. Without these little devices our world would be a very different place.
Since then, the transistor has been getting smaller and smaller and cheaper and cheaper to manufacture. Now though, science has gone mental and created a transistor that’s just one atom thick.
These transistors are made of something called ‘silicene’, which is apparently nothing like silly string, but rather is a nano-material that might well play a big part in our future. Silicene is very similar to graphene but is more interesting in terms of computer science because it has a silicone base meaning that it can form ‘band gaps’. These are crucial for transistors.
Unfortunately, the first chip created lasted only a couple of minutes due to instability. However, this is still a remarkable accomplishment, particularly as silicene was only a theoretical substance until very recently.
Eventually this could lead to the creation of even more tiny computers and machines and the ‘internet of things’ that we have been promised for a while now. At the same time, it could help us to pack even more computing power into larger machines.
Source – Engadget via Nature[/vc_column_text]
