• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • WordPress
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
Science Update

Science Update

Sharing Science | Satisfying Curiosity | Debunking BS

  • Spotlights
  • Reality Check
  • Why Is It?
  • Radio Archives
  • Sciup @ School
Home » Radio Archive » Daily Show » Speedy Diodes

Speedy Diodes

December 2, 2010
https://podcast.scienceupdate.com/101202_sciup_diod.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window

BOB HIRSHON (host):
Taking electronics up a notch…I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.

Pretty soon, silicon-based transistors will be as good as they’ll ever get. That’s because there’s a limit to how fast electrons can move through them. Now, Oregon State University chemist Doug Keszler and his colleagues have refined an alternative that’s been kicked around for decades. It consists of two electrodes separated by a very thin layer of insulation, which electrons tunnel right through.

DOUG KESZLER (Oregon State University):
So this enables almost instantaneous transfer of the electrons between the electrodes, which can transfer into very high speed electronics.

HIRSHON:
In their version, that tunneling can be controlled much better than before. That’s because the electrodes are made from an ultra-smooth metal that creates a uniform electric field. They hope that the technology could take electronics to presently unthinkable speeds. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.

Category: Daily ShowTag: Computer Science, Engineering & Technology, Materials Science, Physics
Previous Post:Cloud Seeding
Next Post:Cat Roundup

Sidebar

Radio Program Archives

Want to learn more about the brain? The environment? Here you can browse the topics that come up regularly on Science Update.

Search the Archives

Categories

  • Daily Show
  • Station Download
  • Weekly Show

Find By Tag

  • 2020
  • Acoustics & Sound
  • Aging
  • Animal Behavior
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Astronomy & Space
  • Biology
  • Brain Science
  • Bugs
  • Chemistry
  • Children & Families
  • cicadas
  • Climate & Weather
  • Communications
  • Computer Science
  • Economics & Business
  • Education
  • Energy
  • Engineering & Technology
  • Environment & Conservation
  • Genetics & Evolution
  • Geology
  • Marine Science
  • Materials Science
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine & Health
  • Microbiology
  • Nanotechnology
  • Nutrition & Food Science
  • Paleontology & Dinosaurs
  • Physics
  • Plants & Agriculture
  • Political Science
  • Reality Check
  • Social & Behavioral Sciences
  • Sports & Fitness
  • spotlight
  • Spotlight Bugs
  • Terrorism & War
  • Why Is It? Questions
  • Wildlife
  • Year in Review

Find By Date

Science Update
  • About Science Update
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

Mayan Honeybee hives
House sparrow wearing top hat rides aboard a red fireworks rocket

Copyright © 2023 · Springtail Media LLC · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Pongos