Stanford engineers find work around for barriers to carbon nanotube computers

We've been waiting, rather patiently we might add, for carbon nanotubes to really start making a difference in our computing lives. That day has yet to pass, but researchers at Stanford are making good progress. Breakthroughs have been coming at a steady pace over the last several years, but there are still major obstacles. For one, aligning tubes end to end has proven practically impossible, and metallic carbon nanotubes (as opposed to semi conducting ones) wreak all sorts of havoc with circuits. (That wouldn't be an issue if there was a reliable way to produce only the semiconducting variety.) Rather than charge headlong into those challenges though, the Stanford team has figured out a way around modern limitations, without sacrificing much of the energy efficiency that makes carbon nanotubes so attractive. The team has found an "imperfection-immune" way of designing nanotube circuits that removes metallic contaminants and is unaffected by misaligned tubes. For more info, check out the PR after the break.

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Stanford engineers find work around for barriers to carbon nanotube computers originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Jun 2012 01:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook reportedly back to building phones, recruiting former iPhone engineers

If the HTC Status' dedicated Facebook button fell shy of satisfying your obsessive social networking needs, sit tight: the house of Zuckerberg may be building a slab of tech just for you. According to the New York Times Bits blog, those old Facebook phone rumors are making a comeback. A handful of Facebook employees and engineers familiar with the matter reportedly say that the firm is collecting former Apple engineers, specifically, ones that worked on the iPhone and iPad. Like Zuckerberg said, mobile is the company's top focus, and one employee says the man at the top is afraid of getting overlooked in a sea of apps. "Mark is worried that if he doesn't create a mobile phone in the near future that Facebook will simply become an app on other mobile platforms." Facebook has focused on deep integration with other devices for some time, but a dedicated handset could take the freshly public company in new directions. Reports suggest that the rumored device is still in its infancy, and there's no word on form factor or OS, of course. Up for some speculation? Check out the source link below for Bits' full take.

Facebook reportedly back to building phones, recruiting former iPhone engineers originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 May 2012 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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