Research could lead to handheld supercomputers

A breakthrough by researchers at the University of Edinburgh has helped move handheld supercomputers a step closer to becoming a reality.

Researchers from Edinburgh's School of Engineering have been studying the behaviour of wires thousands of times thinner than human hairs, a technology which will be required if matchbox sized supercomputers are ever to be realised.

The researchers say that at this scale, wires exhibit very different behaviours to normal - a problem which has traditionally been a barrier to creating tiny, stable microchips. Following their research, the team have created a computer program which predicts how the wire will behave in a variety of circumstances, which could see it cropping up in new technologies within a decade.

The team hopes that the discovery could lead to smartphones with the processing power of desktop computers, a new range of powerful medical devices and handheld supercomputers.

Findings from Edinburgh University, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and the University of Rome will be published in the journal Science.

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