Transistor created from a single molecule and a dozen atoms

[HEXUS]

Their construction is reproducible and operation is reliable, despite their tiny size.

Read more.

[Chadders87]

I saw the thumbnail and thought Wow. They've done it... They've collected all the Dragon Balls.

Whats the future application ideas for this technology though. Surely a transistor that tiny won't be all that practical?

[shaithis]

I saw the thumbnail and thought Wow. They've done it... They've collected all the Dragon Balls.

Whats the future application ideas for this technology though. Surely a transistor that tiny won't be all that practical?

Shrinking.

The silicon age is nearing it's end.....everyone and their undergrad is trying to find new processes.

[Kumagawa]

So how is this different than the single atom transistor from 2012? ( http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v7/n4/full/nnano.2012.21.html )

[CK_1985]

Reading articles like this just serves to remind me how little I understand of how computers really work...

Still, yay science!

[andreipoe]

Reading articles like this just serves to remind me how little I understand of how computers really work...

Still, yay science!

I guess at this level it really has more to do with physics than anything else.

But yes, it's amazing to watch all this progress being made.

[shaithis]

So how is this different than the single atom transistor from 2012? ( http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/...o.2012.21.html )

Without fully reading and comprehending that article, I would hazard a guess that the difference is in cost of manufacture and/or how feasible it is to produce in bulk.

A lot of the technologies people come up with only work in a lab/small scale. Sometimes they can be understood better and brought to manufacture.....but as with most of these articles we hear about them in the very early "exciting" stages. Just because something is possible, doesn't make it viable for manufacture.....or maybe not for a number of years and advancements.

[Corky34]

Couldn't they pick a name that's easier to say than phtha...phthaloc...phthalocy...Ohh bugger

[azrael-]

Phtalocyanine... Name seems vaguely familiar... Wait... Wait... Wasn't that used as the dye for CD-R media?

[devBunny]

Phtalocyanine... Name seems vaguely familiar... Wait... Wait... Wasn't that used as the dye for CD-R media?

Yes, it's used as a dye. Phthalocyanines are structurally related to other macrocyclic pigments, especially the porphyrins. Both feature four pyrrole-like subunits linked to form a 16-membered ring.

And other high-falutin' sounding stuff from Wikipedia. ;o)

Here's one for you, Corky..

In 1927, Swiss researchers accidentally synthesized copper phthalocyanine, copper naphthalocyanine, and copper octamethylphthalocyanine.

Get yer tongue around those beauties. :-)

[shaithis]

Couldn't they pick a name that's easier to say than phtha...phthaloc...phthalocy...Ohh bugger

I was debating the name with a friend last night.....started to look online for confirmation and found a 50/50 split of people who do or don't pronounce the "PH".......either way, it's a bit of a mouthful.

The "silicon age" had a ring to it....the "phthalocyanine age" does not