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‘Remote Joule heating’ could be used to create computer processors

Researchers at the A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, have discovered a new phenomenon that occurs when electrical current is passed through carbon nanotubes. Items in close proximity heat up whereas the nanotubes themselves stay cool, the same way a toaster toasts bread without it getting hot. Acquiring the knowledge of this interesting phenomenon could very well direct scientists to new paths of creating computer processors that have the capability of running at high speeds without getting overheated and dispelling the heat elsewhere.

Remote Heating

Kamal Baloch and John Cumings made the discovery after being influenced by those normal morning routines we all go through such as preparing breakfast, only to come across happenings that seemed to defy reality. For instance, discovering that toast gets burnt though the toaster itself remains cold. The researchers then ran their experiments over and over in the electron microscopy facility at the University of Maryland, only to discover that the end result was always the same: when electrical current is run through a carbon nanotube, the substrate kept below it becomes so hot that it can melt metal nanoparticles on its surface. However, the nanotube and the metal contacts attached to it stayed cool throughout the process.

During the experiment, it was discovered that the electrons were bouncing off of something else and not atoms. The atoms in the silicone nitride substrate vibrated and heated instead of the nanotube. The phenomenon has even been given a name by the researchers, ‘remote Joule heating’. According to the scientists, the electrons from the nanotube create an electrical field due to the current. Because of this, the atoms from the substrate respond to the fields.

Baloch and Cumings are of the view that remote Joule heating effect could be used in computer technology and help processors run in exceptional speeds without getting heated.

Via: Umd

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