Computing is getting a little greener, thanks to a material called graphene.

New studies suggest that integrating the "strongest material in the world" into computer chips would allow them to run off of light. Currently, most chips require electricity.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and IBM’s T. J. Watson Research Center led the studies, which were published in Nature Photonics. The chip uses incoming light to knock electrons out, converting them into electrical energy.

According to MIT, the new chips could cut back on power consumption and heat production. As another bonus, the chips could be faster and cheaper to make.

This isn't the first we've heard about graphene. In February, the European Union gave Nokia a $1.35 billion grant to develop the material, which is reportedly only one atom thick and 300 times stronger than steel.

In 2010, two graphene researchers won the Nobel Prize in Physics for demonstrating how the transparent and flexible material could be used to make touchscreens, light panels and solar cells.

همه چیز از سال 2010 آغاز شد، زمانی که دو دانشمند از دانشگاه منچستر توانستند جایزه ی نوبل در رشته ی فیزیک را به خاطر تحقیقات گرانبهای شان در مورد استفاده از گونه ای کربن در تجهیزات الکترونیکی کسب کنند. از آن زمان تحقیقات بیشتری در این زمینه صورت گرفته، از آن جمله می توان به یک سری مطالعاتی اشاره کرد که پژوهشگران دانشگاه MIT، دانشگاه کلمبیا و مرکز تحقیقاتی T.J. Watson هدایت آن ها را بر عهده داشته اند.

narenji