Jimmy 2004For most people’s computers, the microchips inside them are likely to fail after just a few hours, if not a few minutes, of use at high temperatures, leading to some quite extreme cooling solutions. However, scientists at NASA have managed to remove the need for complex cooling methods by designing a chip that can survive 1,700 hours of continuous operation at 500 degrees Celsius. Given that the average CPU would be considered to be running hot if it hit 60 degrees, this is quite an impressive achievement, which could pave the way for harsh-environment electronics. For example, it would allow computer-components to be located nearer to combustion chambers on space shuttles and rockets which could lead to more streamlined designs. More locally, these chips could potentially be used in environments such as oil and gas drilling, or even near to automotive engines, where relatively high temperatures are experienced.

Source: DailyTech