Saw-Wai Hla‘s group at Ohio University has developed a wire that is 1 molecule wide. How cool is that? It is zero resistance so it doesn’t lose any heat.

They took that wire and developed a superconductor using wires that are 4 molecules long. The wires were made with an organic molecule and salt on top of a sheet of silver.  From looking at the group’s site it looks like the organic molecule is chlorophyll.  This is so cool!!!

The idea of taking something so organic and creating a semiconductor out of it just so freeing as far as the limitless technology development that could come. Forget a cell phone, build it into your jacket. And making it organic like this would really bring down the production cost. Because really, how hard is it to get chlorophyll;)?

Now obviously this isn’t market ready. It looks like they aren’t sure why it conducts at 4 molecules of length but not 3. So there is a while until this happens in the mass market but heck, I am only 34;).

This is cooler than the Jetson’s robot maid, well maybe;).

(HT: New Scientist)