Stuff electricity and screw over-heating... bring on nanophotonics!

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http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/06/ibm-creates-a-chip-sized-supercomputer/

IBM've created a chip which transfers data via light, not electricity. No more overheating either...

engadget wrote:Those super-geniuses over at IBMhave whipped up a new form of CPU transfer which utilizes pulses oflight instead of electricity to move data between cores on a chip. Thenew technology -- which is one-hundred times faster than current speeds-- is called silicon nanophotonics, and if implemented, could downsizesupercomputers to laptop stature. The invention is unhindered by commonproblems with electrical chips, such as overheating and breakdown ofdata on short trips, allowing signals to pass unmolested over greaterdistances. Using this process, data can be moved a few centimeters,while requiring one-tenth as much power, resulting in lower operationalcosts for supercomputers. Will Green, a researcher at IBM, says thatthe company's creation will, "Be able to have hundreds or thousands ofcores on a chip," and will result in huge speed boosts. Unfortunately,the project is on track to be carried out in 10 to 12 years...​

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