this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2026
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This Fiber Integrated Circuit (FIC) design was inspired by sushi rolls.

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[–] friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That doesn't look even close to as thin as a human hair.

[–] A_A@lemmy.world -1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

that image is under a microscope ... it is 50 micrometer while a human hair is in the range of 100 micrometer.

[–] friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ok, then I'm amazed somebody has such a tiny finger.

[–] A_A@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Ooops, you are right : i should have seen this digital print giving scale of the image 😆

[–] cannedtuna@lemmy.world 37 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Judging by that picture it looks like they finally made a twisted transistor

[–] Gerblat@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

I love that band

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago

hey you, finally you get it

[–] gustofwind@lemmy.world 36 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oh boy new technology to enable horrors beyond our wildest sci fi novels

[–] sidebro@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 day ago

Wait until they put AI in it

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 18 points 1 day ago (3 children)

FINALLY a tiny chip I can crush and it won't break.

[–] Lucky_777@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Something we all have trouble with daily

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

A gamer like me puts multiple of tons of pressure on their graphics cards with each 360 no scope.

[–] Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 day ago

If it doesnt break… did you really crush it?

[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

AMD Athlon PTSD increasing.

[–] xia@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

Reminds me of those woven cpu cores in Westworld.

[–] A_A@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Any single hair will withstand a rubber truck tire rolling on it the way they describe their crushing test, so, that is a bullshit statement ... yet better to get the abstract from Nature (science journal)

spoiler

Published : 2026 January 21

Fibre integrated circuits by a multilayered spiral architecture

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09974-0

Abstract

Fibre electronic devices are transforming traditional fibres and garments into new-generation wearables that can actively interact with human bodies and the environment to shape future life1,2,3,4,5. Fibre electronic devices have achieved almost all of the desired functions, such as powering6,7, sensing8,9 and display10,11 functions. However, viable information-processing fibres, which lie at the heart of building intelligent interactive fibre systems similar to any electronic product, remain the missing piece of the puzzle12,13,14,15. Here we fill this gap by creating a fibre integrated circuit (FIC) with unprecedented microdevice density and multimodal processing capacity. The integration density reaches 100,000 transistors per centimetre, which effectively satisfies the requirements for interactive fibre systems. The FICs can not only process digital and analogue signals similar to typical commercial arithmetic chips but also achieve high-recognition-accuracy neural computing similar to that of the state-of-the-art in-memory image processors. The FICs are stable under harsh service conditions that bulky and planar counterparts have difficulty withstanding, such as repeated bending and abrasion for 10,000 cycles, stretching to 30%, twisting at an angle of 180° cm−1 and even crushing by a container truck weighing 15.6 tons. The realization of FICs enables closed-loop systems in a single fibre, without the need for any external rigid and bulky information processors. We demonstrate that this fully flexible fibre system paves the way for the interaction pattern desired in many cutting-edge applications, for example, brain–computer interfaces, smart textiles and virtual-reality wearables. This work presents new insights that can promote the development of fibre devices towards intelligent systems.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

so they say this:

Enthusiastic claims by the university blog assert that a 1-meter fiber “could hold millions of transistors, reaching the power levels of a standard desktop computer processor.” But, we had to go back as far as the Intel Pentium III or AMD K6-2 to find PC CPUs with so few transistors. Both those legendary CPUs launched in the late 1990s, and they feature a smidgen under 10 million transistors each.

but that seems trivial when you take into accout:

The finished fiber has a tiny diameter, measuring about 50um.

What I really want to know is how its connected and how hot does it get. Im envisioning a spiral of coil that can be on a meshe with a fan blowing right out the case. That would be amazing. Or if it needs more connections then a series of parralell lengths. Its like could you put them on top of each other with mesh that acts as a good conduction or having every other water cooling channels?

[–] prodigalsorcerer@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

Obviously the solution is to make a wig out of it. It's the next iteration of portable computing.

Instead of comparing it to desktop computers, let's compare it to the ESP processor lines. Imagine an ESP device that is made much thinner, lighter, more power efficient, and less likely to crush. Imagine circuitry interlaced into clothing. The ~~horrors~~ benefits are endless.

Time for some real smart clothing

[–] The_v@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago

Computerized clothing.

If you don't pay your subscription your back will display ads. Hell even if you pay your subscription it will just be less ads. The ads of course will be targeted based upon the biometric readings the smart clothing collects.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 3 points 1 day ago (3 children)

How many transistors does a normal computer chip have on a square centimeter now? Isn't 10,000 only 10,000 bytes, and pretty patry?

[–] prodigalsorcerer@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

Depends on the chip design, but modern chips will have (single digit) billions of transistors per square cm.

[–] QinShiHuangsShlong@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The smallest transistors currently in production are the intel 18A which have a gate length of 18 angstroms or 1.8nanometers.

However this is more of a naming convention than actual size as transistors have moved off planar design for a while now as FINFETS and GAA transistors became the norm.

The smallest planar transistors are around 22nm which would give you around 450,000 stacked end to end in one cm. This doesn't take into consideration buffer devices or any proper layout procedure.

I however don't think that's the core breakthrough here. It's more about it's durability seemingly.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 0 points 1 day ago

transistors would be bit level (as in several for a single logic gate)