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Science Friday > Archives > 2003 > May > May 23, 2003:
Hour One: Future Electronics

Most computers today rely on silicon chips to crunch their numbers -- but what will the computers of tomorrow use? Researchers are hard at work looking for advances in physics and materials science that will allow the use of other materials that can perform at levels far beyond those possible with silicon chips. Some of the possibilities include tiny transistors based on carbon nanotubes, molecules that can self-assemble into complex surfaces, and devices using organic semiconductors.

In this hour of Science Friday, we'll take a look at the physics and materials science needed to bring computing on beyond silicon. We'll hear about technologies in development, and talk about the work needed to bring laboratory phenomena onto the desktop. Plus, we'll try to take a look at a transparent transistor.

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255, and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).

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Guests:
Stanley Williams
Director, Quantum Science Research
HP Labs
Palo Alto, California

Thomas Theis
Director, Physical Science Research
IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center
Yorktown Heights, New York

John Wager
Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon

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Related Links:
National Nanotechnology Initiative
Nanodot: News and Discussion of Emerging Technologies
Small Times: News about MEMS, Nanotechnology and Microsystems
Nanotech Planet - Research: Planning for the Day When Silicon Rules No More
Technology Review: Computing After Silicon
Nanotubes
Forbes.com: Tiny Triumphs At Hewlett-Packard
TechTV | IBM Advances Nanotech
Wired News: Big Patent on a Molecular Scale
EE Times - IBM ace has nanotech memory in mind
AAAS - 2001 Annual Meeting - San Francisco, CA - Nanotechnology: ...

This segment produced by Charles Bergquist

 


 

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