Tiny Components Pave the Way for Great Advances in Electronics

Graphene, microsensors, supercapacitors, and other innovations promise to weave tech into the fabric of our lives

Atomic and molecular configurations come in a near-infinite number of possible combinations, but the specific combinations found in any material determine its properties. Graphene, which is an individual, single-atom sheet of the material shown here, is the hardest material known to humanity, but with even more fascinating properties that will revolutionize electronics later this century. (Credit: Max Pixel)

Almost everything we encounter in our modern world relies, in some way, on electronics. Ever since we first discovered how to harness the power of electricity to generate mechanical work, we’ve generated devices large and small to technologically improve our lives. From electric lighting to telephones to computers and much, much more, every single device that we’ve developed consists of only a few simple components stitched together in a wide variety of configurations. In fact, for over 100 years, we’ve relied on:

• a voltage source (like a battery),
• resistors,
• capacitors,
• and inductors,

as the core of practically every device ever invented and utilized.

Our modern electronics revolution, which relied on these four types of components plus — a little later on — the transistor, has brought us practically every item we make use of today. As we race to miniaturize electronics, to monitor more and more aspects of our lives and our reality, to transmit greater amounts of data with smaller amounts of power…