First Computer Built with Only Carbon Nano Tubes

Researchers at Stanford University have recently published an article in Nature showing they have built a simple, but working computer from only carbon nanotubes. The nanotubes are molecules that are cylindrical in shape and offer increased efficiency for many components used in computers.

The nanotubes have been looked to for the future of computing and this is because the nanotubes will allow smaller, faster and lower powered computing to be created. The long standing problem is that the nanotubes were hard to work with However, the Stanford Robust Systems Group made their first computer this week using 142 transistors made of carbon fiber tubes.

One little variant is that the nanotubes making up the computer are significantly larger than is standardly excepted. A standard nanotube is .22 nanometers (.22 nanometers = 0.00022 microns).  However despite the increased size the computer is capable of performing any computation with enough time and this is considered a considerable achievement. The computer is based on two generations worth of students from Stanford and is based on the MIPS microprocessor which was originally designed in the 80’s.

The computer is very basic, but that wasn’t the goal here. The goal was simply to prove you can build a complete computer out of nanotubes and have a starting point for future development. The researchers have said that they don’t consider this a breakthrough, but more a demonstration that you can work with other materials besides silicone.