<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"It\u2019s often said that a smartphone contains all the computing power NASA used to put people on the moon. But while today\u2019s computer chips are incredibly capable, they\u2019re still not as energy efficient as they could be. The more powerful chips get, the hotter they run and the more energy they require to cool down, so they don\u2019t fry their electronic components inside.\nSEE ALSO: Forget Shots: New Implants Could Deliver Meds\n\nAs reported by the BBC, IBM is looking for a solution. One idea is to cool computers the way the human body cools its brain \u2014 by using a fluid, i.e. blood. IBM\u2019s Patrick Ruch and Bruno built a proof-of-concept computer chip that contains tiny channels that would circulate a fluid past electronic components, cooling them down. They think an electrolyte similar to what goes inside a battery would work best for the \u201Celectronic blood.\u201D As it passed through the channels, it would not only dissipate heat, but would also deliver energy to the chips. It would work because as the fluid traveled through ever-smaller channels, it would pass electrodes that would pick up the electrons from the fluid and use them to create a current.\nThe ability to cool heat this way would allow scientists to pack more processing power into a smaller space or even fatten otherwise flat computer chips into block-like structure. Right now that can\u2019t be done, because chips rely on circulating air to stay cool and piling processors on top of each other traps too much heat.\nThe \u201Celectronic blood\u201D cooling system could save on energy costs, too. Google, for example, spends millions of dollars on air conditioning bills to keep its data centers cool, which expend enough energy per year to power 200,000 homes.\nSEE ALSO: Edible Boat Powered By Booze\n\nRuch and Michel\u2019s system for cooling has a way to go. There\u2019s the matter of choosing a workable electrolyte and fabricating chips with tiny channels in them.\nBut more than that, the project is part of an effort to get computers to work the way a brain does. Brains are pretty efficient \u2014 most of the energy a human brain uses goes to processing information. Only a small fraction of the energy in the brain gets turned into heat. That isn\u2019t true of computers.\nTo get an idea of the difference, think of the competition between IBM\u2019s Watson and the humans who played Jeopardy. Each brain used only about 20 watts, while Watson ate up 84 kilowatts. If we\u2019re going to fit computers that think like humans into spaces smaller than a semi-trailer, it only makes sense that they should cool themselves as efficiently as our brains do.\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.\nImage: Chantal Wagner Kornin"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/10/23/electronic-blood-for-computers/>