The Laboratory in the News Firms team with DOE labs to develop superchip Three of the largest computer-chip makers joined with DOE laboratories to squeeze far more brain power into microprocessors. The unusual partnership aims to make computers a hundred times faster and bring features such as three-dimensional graphics to affordable machines. In addition to boosting computer speed, the memory chips will be able to store a thousand times more information than they currently can. Another partnership aim is to cram one billion transistors onto each thumbnail-size chip. Currently, Intel's most powerful processor contains 7.5 million transistors.
Discussions are under way to bring other U.S. companies into the consortium.
Zinc-air fuel cells mix zinc pellets and electrolyte with air to create electricity. They create five times as much power as lead-acid batteries of the same weight. The Livermore design is unique because it is refuelable, and the spent zinc can be recycled into zinc pellets. The NIF design requires that its high-tech laser components be tightly encapsulated in the surrounding building. The resulting data will help the Department of Energy maintain the safety and reliability of the nation's nuclear stockpile without underground testing while providing benefits in basic science, astrophysics, and commercial fusion power production.