A research team at MIT has introduced a new metamaterial. This could make various components nearly indestructible in the future. Wear and tear on graphics cards and processors could be minimized.
A research team at MIT has introduced a new “strong but stretchy” metamaterial. This is reported by the English-language magazine PCGamer. So-called metamaterials are artificially developed materials with special properties.
The presented metamaterial is a substance with multiple microscopic structures. The new material from MIT combines a “rigid, lattice-like framework of struts and beams” with “a pattern of coils that wind around each strut and beam”.
New material could provide high stability and shock resistance for new products
What is the advantage of the presented material? The advantage is that the material was able to stretch up to three times its own length in a test. The research team claims that this new metamaterial could be used to manufacture stretchable ceramics, glass, metals, and flexible semiconductors.
Additionally, the metamaterial could provide exceptional stability and shock resistance to new products or devices.
What does this mean for me? Portable devices like laptops and tablets are particularly susceptible to physical stress and could greatly benefit from the improved material in the future.
Processors and graphics cards expand under load with high heat generation. This is a completely normal process, but it also causes wear on hardware and wears out the devices over time. If not only the chips and other components on these boards but also the electrical traces themselves were bendable, one could imagine almost unbreakable digital devices.
A research team claims to have doubled a computer’s performance. They employ a new technique. The advantage is that it does not require new hardware. However, it might take some time for this technique to reach our systems: Scientists show how to double a computer’s performance without expensive hardware upgrades
