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Postcards from Tomorrow's Data Centers

Kevin Fogarty April 16, 2013 08:00 AM Today's data centers are essentially the same: long rows of metal racks stocked with machines, miles of cable, and elaborate cooling systems. But just because we build data centers this way in 2013 doesn't mean that's how it will be in ten, twenty or fifty years. Here's a few glimpses of what the future might hold, from printable electronics to nanotube processors to nuclear batteries.

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Two Metamaterials Are Better Than One

Photo: Flash Memory Made Out of Graphene and Molybdenite

Image Source: Phys.Org/EPFL, Pascal Coderay

If one metamaterial can outperform silicon in computers, why not two? Adding graphene and molybdenite in layers, researchers built flash memory that uses less space and less energy than silicon and is still flexible enough to be built into a bendable film for nanoelectronic devices.

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