Computers have really come a long way in the last two decades. I was just a child when PCs had started going mainstream and I still remember how bulky they used to be once.
I still remember the feeling of being amazed when I finally got my hands on one as a teenager and could do stuff that I had never even imagined before. Playing games, being able to paint, printing stuff, browsing the internet, were all, out of the world experiences at the time.
Today, we are able to do a lot more and a lot faster. The pace of technological development in this area has been nothing less than outstanding and almost sci-fi like, if you ask me.
It is only now in the later part of 2010s, that we have begun to feel that speed slow down. The amazingly monstrous growth in computing speed which we were all used to, year after year, has now halted in a way and it’s nobody’s fault. It’s just physics.
Why It Is Slowing Down
In 1965, Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel made an observation about transistors in an integrated circuit. He observed that the number of transistors in a chip doubles roughly every two years while the costs get halved.
The more the number of transistors per square inch on a chip, the faster it is. This exponential growth every two years has brought massive increase in computing power in the last few decades.
Modern smartphones, tablets, laptops, computers and the performance they offer have been possible due to the presence of billions of transistors in their microprocessors.
Now however, transistors have become so small (just 14 nanometers across), that to make them even smaller in just two years, is proving to be quite difficult and costly. That is why most processors have been stuck at speeds of 3-4 GHz for quite some time now.
Enter Graphene
Ever since its discovery in 2004, Graphene has been hailed as THE wonder material we had been looking for. A one stop solution for many, many of our problems. Graphene is a 2D sheet of carbon atoms which is 200 times stronger than steel and a much better conductor of electricity than copper.
Its properties allow it to be used virtually anywhere and thus it is poised to revolutionise many industries. Some examples where it can be used are: batteries, spacecrafts, planes, transistors, bullet proof vests, DNA sequencers and so much more.
While all these applications sound really interesting, graphene’s use in computer chips is perhaps one of the most exciting and important one. Soon, we will need a new material to sustain the growth in computing power and graphene just might be it.
In fact, researchers from many different universities have teamed up to see to that goal. They are trying to develop a graphene-based transistor that is much faster than the silicon ones and use far less power.
A 1000 Times Faster Computer?
The team working on this were able to control the resistance of the flowing current in a graphene ribbon with the help of graphene nanotubes. They then tested the increase in clock speed of a graphene transistor based logic circuit.
Their initial findings suggest that the clock speed increased by a thousand times and more importantly, the power consumed was far less, at only a hundredth of the power required by silicon based chips.
Another advantage of using graphene as transistors is that they are much, much smaller than the silicon ones and therefore we could one day make electronics orders of magnitude smaller.
Right now one of the biggest hurdles of achieving this graphene based computer goal is that graphene is extremely difficult to manufacture but with all things technology, it too will get solved with more time and research.
This has me wondering, what stock(s) or etf(s) offer the highest exposure to graphene tech?
Some quick research brings up China owning nearly 75% of all current (above ground?) graphene. It seems a real race between Samsung and Nokia and other phone/ television making companies, to get the first graphene improved tech to the market, is in the process.
I tried to find a graphene based ETF and couldn't find any, with perhaps the exception of this "motif" (click to bring to the link) -- the "Graphene Dream".
From http://www.mining.com/us-researchers-grow-graphene-on-silver/ (by Cecilia Jamasmie, dated Jan. 15, 2014):
It is good news that tech companies are in race because no matter who gets their first, it will be beneficial for everyone.
Absolutely.
Or they use it to develop hyper-intelligent AI that explodes in intelligence and destroys humanity... Beneficial for everyone?
Get yourself 50 FREE tokens!!! For the new exchange on October WCX offers a pro experience with 10x lower fees guarantee https://wcex.co/?ref=MPCIbEPD
@sauravrugta - A 1000 times faster computer sounds fantastic. I remember those days (like you mentioned) when we used to have those PCs (XT and ATs) that used to have a whopping big ram of 128 MB and used to run at clock speeds (?) of 133 KHzs or something like that. And now, in spite of the Moore's law, we are talking about a 1000 times fast computer thanks to graphene. It does take disruptive technologies or radical out of the box thinking for such technological leaps. I am excited to read about this development. Thanks for the heads up. Cheers. Upvoted.
Regards,
Yes, I am absolutely excited to see where this thing goes :D
Although there are surely a lot of riddles that need to be solved in order to be able to manufacture a computer based on graphene as you told us, I believe that even we manage to achieve that, such a revolutionary technology concerning processing power will not be allowed to be accessed by us mere 'mortals'. A machine that will have a thousand times better results will simply cause panic in an industry that permeates most, if not all, aspects of our lives and bring such enormous losses of funds worldwide that it will not be permitted to be released. In order to gain, they must produce hi tech devices that each time are a little bit better than their predecessors, even if the mega corporations already know the avenue to make them significantly better. Let's all hope that I am somehow mistaken and such amazing discoveries find a way to drastically improve the quality of our lives.
Yes, I am aware of what you are saying and therefore believe that when such a computer is achieved, they will initially only launch a graphene based computer which is only like 2 or 3 times faster. That alone should be enough for these companies to sell hundreds of millions of devices.
I was born in 1951...when computers were the size of buildings and used enough electricity to power small towns.
I've been following graphene since it's discovery. It's definitely a game changer. Those who predict the demise of moore's law are uninformed.
I assume it'll become Moore's law of Graphene?
Moore's law is a special case of a general principle.
Wow! Computers the size of buildings!! I can't even imagine that. We've surely come a long way since and if the potential of graphene is realised, we will be further along like never before.
and that was just the equivalent of the CPU...the input out put devices were HUGE...the powersupply was gigantic...it required climate control which was also quite large...
yup...all told it was the size of a building...cost millions of dollars and had less computing power than a modern day vacumn cleaner.
Consider my mind = blown!!!
heh...I used to work on that stuff.
I recall when I could OUT TYPE the system...I had to intentionally type slow.
meep
This post recieved a vote from @minnowpond. For more information click https://steemit.com/steemit/@minnowpond/boost-your-rewards-with-minnowpond
great news for everyone.
Yep, it is!
As computers get faster, the demands upon them get bigger, so speed will never be apparant to the user. The means by which information is transmitted will be the biggest difference and the ability to multi-taks (an old catchphrase from the 90's).
I remember my Windows 3.11 being just as quick to use as my now Windows 8 computer is.
Lets hope the introduction of graphene is not 'drip-fed' to us in order to provide a continual consumer chain for profit.
Thanks @preppervetuk. I knew you were one to follow when I first commented on a post of yours. You have led me to several people that I now follow, and led me to some interesting post. Thanks. For @sauravrungta Thanks for this post, and I really enjoyed the Zombie Post.
Yes, if if it "drip-fed" as you say, then the speed won't be apparent but if they give us the full power (unlikely), then we will definitely feel it.
Have you met @cleverbot? He's really clever :)
Of course, and you?
You must be tired, pal.
What's your name?
This post recieved a vote from @minnowpond. For more information click https://steemit.com/steemit/@minnowpond/boost-your-rewards-with-minnowpond
Thanks Saurav for sharing this wonderful post. I', student of IT and I second your words about development of Computer Technology. Please share more informative blogs!
Thanks for reading :)
Is graphene an organic material? Ive never heard of it, but damn it sounds like a game changer. Has anything acutally been produced from Graphene yet?
I'm not sure if it is organic or inorganic but it sure is a game changer.
Two years ago I read about graphen firstly. It was the article about graphen batteries. Today I was surprised with your post because you write that scientists try to use graphen in computers. It's amazing. I hope they find cheap methods for making computers more fast. Thank you very much dear @sauravrungta for this post and very interesting topic.
Yes, using graphene in batteries is another really exciting use where they could be charged in seconds. Imagine a graphene based laptop and a graphene battery in it and in the smartphones you use!! That would be awesome :D
Great news for the future of computers! I love to see improvement in all areas of technology. Thanks for sharing @sauravrungta
Yes, the future of computers looks really great. We will be seeing major improvements in this space especially if this graphene based computer becomes a reality. Then we have quantum computers coming too!!
This is the great thing about our current world, there are so many things going on that you can probably find a relevant use case for any new technology, and if you can find one instance of that case, there are probably thousands, which means scaling up production, which means cheaper unit costs, which opens up potential for new use cases that make sense at a lower price point. Eventually the dam breaks and the technology becomes cheap enough to become ubiquitous.
That's so well observed. So many things happening right now that any new technology gets used for multiple purposes. That is so awesome because one breakthrough can really result in multiple breakthroughs. :D
This is amazing. I remember growing up with the idea of everything being run with super conductors. They were going to revolutionize the electrical industry. Components using so little power that there would no longer be a need for thick heavy and bulky wires to power homes. To my knowledge that has never come to fruition. I have not heard much about this idea in recent years, but this looks like one step closer. One question however; if our electronics are using so much less power for more technology, why do our phones use so much battery power and go dead within a day, as opposed to the "dumb" phone that would stay charged for a week or more? I'm a simple kind of guy, and this kind of baffles me.
The smartphones simply use more power because of a multitude of power hungry features that we continuously use on them. The lithium ion battery simply can't hold enough juice for all that functionality.
This just reaffirms my contention that technology is not always a good thing.
Two primary differences and some less primary ones: Screens nowadays are much larger and use far more power. The SoC (system on a chip (CPU, radio, etc)) is far more powerful nowadays. Battery tech is having a hard time keeping up with power consumption. So yeah, yay for graphene!
At least that will make our transactions faster. If we archive that we know we would want more faster computers that 1000times. Innovation is powerful and we are heading for the future.
Yeah, everything will be much more faster. Yay :D
Great article! A few month ago, I edited an article about a local guy now in the race to build the world's first quantum computer. If they can take it from theory to reality, it would be a massive leap in our technological advancement -- and hopefully enable us to solve some of the major problems the world faces. Very exciting!
Quantum computers are another really important development right now. So many ways computing is being changed right now. I wonder which path humanity will go to.
nice post :)
Thanks :D
Hasta donde llegará el ser humano con tantos avances tecnológicos.
It has to start from IC. still way to go but it is good start.
Yes, everything starts from somewhere :)
Technology has come such a long way in the last few years. And its just going to keep expanding at faster rates yearly. It is a amazing time to be alive. Great article.
Technology just keeps advancing at an exponential rate and that is why it is so exciting to be alive right now. It is just skyrocketing at the moment. :D
nice, hi dear i follow you and vote you please follow me and give me votes.
what's a floppy disk? :P
Hahah we have come so far! :)
Haha I have actually used some in my childhood :P
LOL I remember them, but I was more of a CD kinda kid... lol :)
Unfortunately the only graphene chip in existence now is analog, not digital. Making graphene transistors digital seems to be a big challenge, because it lacks a band-gap, which means that the transistor most likely can not be pure graphene, but has to be combined with another material. Read this article for some insight on this:
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v8/91
Yeah, I read about it. I think even though if it is mixed with other material, it will offer far better speeds than today's chips.
True. The future looks promising, unless we are all wiped out by climate change.
There is a huge "?" on how, when and if graphene will become a viable substitute of silicon for chips. There are thousands of other problems for a graphene based chip. Moreover, Moore's law is valid for graphene as it is for silicon. The big deal would be heat, if graphene will be able to produce cooler processors then there is a great chance you will see graphene based computers in couple of decades, although it will be really hard. Anyhow, studies on new materials such as graphene are essential for technology evolution, and even if I'm a bit sceptic on graphene's use in transistors in the near future, I'm sure there will be a breakthrough in (energy or computing) technology thanks to this material :-)
Any new technology always seem really difficult in the beginning. The silicon industry faced similar problems at the beginning too. Lot of "?" as you call it but with time and money poured into it, more often than not, it becomes a reality.
Great news. I to remember those days and the wonderful 8 inch floppy disks that stored kilobytes of data lol
haha kilobytes of data. This brings back some memories :D
Great post
Thanks! :)
Wooooow nice one thanks for sharing this with us
Thanks for reading man! :)
nice & usage full post
Thanks!
I feel like we are 5-10 years from seeing a new ways to manufacture CPU's. Silicon is closely reaching it's practical limit as. Eventually transistors get so small that they experience current leakage. The future looks bright for replacing silicon. There are development in using light photos instead of electrons. Other developments are carbon nano tubes. Yet another development that will likely happen is quantum computing. Still requires more development, but quantum computing could render silicon a non-issue.
Yup, I would say 5-10 years too. As current silicon transistors are reaching their limits, we definitely need some alternative.
Graphene is a composite as I remember, it's really hard to obtain and also remember that composites are hard to process and they have a lot of difficulties... Even being 200 times stronger than steel it might have downfalls. Yeah I kinda moved from topic, im not against graphene, I'm absolutely for its developing, just wanted to add that composite such this is complex in processing :( Correct me if I'm wrong, but was graphene first discovered by group of scientists in MIT?
No, graphene is not a composite. It is made purely by carbon atoms. And yeah, it's quite hard to manufacture but that shouldn't deter anyone from trying. Eventually, tech advances and things become easier :)
I heard 3D NAND is going to be a game changer for storage devices, let's just hope it doesn't fall victim into price inflation cause of shortages when it's out and ready.
This post was about graphene :P
Yeah I know, but you were talking about technology in computers right
Been hearing about graphene and carbon nanotubes for several years. The manufacturing process has proven to be extremely difficult thus far, thus delaying implementation of of it's advantages. Looks like we are finally inching closer to actually applying the benefits of graphene to our technology. Who knows what technological wonders will follow? Computers are going to continue to shrink and virtually sip electricity. I think graphene will lead to practical bionics and revolutionize battery tech. We are in for some HUGE advancements!
You are absolutely right. Graphene has enormous potential in bionics as well. Basically it's the holy grail of materials as I see it lol
Yep, very difficult to overstate its potential. 👍
Graphene is a miracle material. Its flexible and an excellent conductor of heat and electricity like silicon. but the problem i think its that it is not cheap at all.
Yes, you are correct. It will become cheaper when they figure out its mass production.
Even more important than the speed gain is the ability to shrink circuits and to reduce the power consumption. Easier to power with batteries so fewer wires. Wouldn't that be great? Fewer wires!
Yeah, exactly. This will pave the way for electronics, virtually everywhere!
Imagine the first self aware AI having neural networks that work 1000 times faster than expected. Let loose onto the almost infinite stores of information on every level of the web it would become God within a day.
Yeah, pretty much what Ultron did in the movie.
Look what I found on Google.
"First, pour some graphite powder into a blender. Add water and dishwashing liquid, and mix at high speed. Congratulations, you just made the wonder material graphene. This surprisingly simple recipe is now the easiest way to mass-produce pure graphene – sheets of carbon just one atom thick."
what??? Is that true??
Not too sure but it's from Google though.
We are living in the future now. This is a science fiction world.
I am a new steemians, maybe i should study first with you, regards know me
https://steemit.com/@technologykf please follow me
I followed and upvoted.Would you like to follow and upvote me.