Wood you use this?
0 up · 0 down · 0 ratings
Description
this is a wooden transistor and these are the Swedish researchers who built it for some reason the scientists removed the boring insulating polymers from wood and replaced them with a much cooler conductive polymer called poly34 ethylene dioxytheophene polystyrene sulfonate or Jim to its friends the result was a wooden transistor three centimeters long or just five million times bigger than current gen silicon with a switching fluency of 1 Hertz which is a lot like one gigahertz just with nine fewer zeros but hey a traditional computer took up a whole room 70 years ago fast forward a century or two maybe we'll all be growing our own iPhones until we're sued by Tim Cook oh yeah he'll still be alive Apple will figure that out
This short introduces a wooden transistor created by Swedish researchers, who replaced the conventional insulating polymers in wood with a conductive polymer called poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate, or PEDOT-PSS for short. The result is a wooden transistor three centimeters long, vastly larger than current silicon transistors by many orders of magnitude, yet capable of switching at about 1 hertz. The narration contrasts this wooden device with the era when computers occupied rooms, noting that in a distant future we may see a radically different scale of electronics, potentially even “growing” devices in a backyard-like fashion. The piece leans into a playful, speculative tone about what such materials could mean for the evolution of computing, while grounding claims with concrete measurements and a nod to ongoing materials science research. Overall, the video blends a science-first description with humor about timber-based technology and the unlikely future of consumer devices, leaving the audience curious about how far wood-based electronics could realistically progress while acknowledging the novelty of the concept.
Topics · technology · science · electronics · innovation
Questions answered
- What material replaces the insulating polymers in the wooden transistor, and why is it significant?
- The insulating polymers are replaced with the conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate, or PEDOT-PSS, which enables electrical conduction in wood and allows the transistor to function, albeit at a very different scale than traditional silicon devices.
- How large is the wooden transistor and how does its size compare to silicon transistors?
- The wooden transistor is three centimeters long, which is millions of times bigger than current silicon transistors.
- What is the switching speed mentioned for the wooden transistor?
- The switching fluency is about 1 hertz, which is technically in the same ballpark as 1 gigahertz but with many zeros fewer.
- What broader implications does the video suggest about the future of computing?
- The video suggests that in the distant future computing could become much larger in scale or even grow from natural materials, highlighting a shift from room-sized to potentially more compact or differently sourced devices, while acknowledging that this is an early, exploratory step in materials science.