Carbon-nanotube computer could revolutionise electronics

Engineers have made a basic computer using carbon nanotubes, a material they say could launch a new generation of faster, more energy-efficient electronic devices. Carbon nanotubes are semiconductors, materials that conduct electricity in a limited way. Semiconductors are essential to electronic devices because they allow electrical signals to be controlled. Silicon is the semiconductor material used in most electronics now.  Carbon nanotubes are a tough, flexible material composed of carbon atoms arranged geometrically into thin tubes, each thousands of times thinner than a hair.