Replacing Silicon With Nanotubes Could Revolutionize Tech

Stanford breakthrough could affect everything from smartphones to laptops, cars and smart eyeglasses

Replacing silicon transistors with carbon nanotubes could make any electronic device -- smartphones, laptops, tablets and supercomputers -- smaller and more powerful.

"This could be a revolutionary technological leap," said Dan Olds, an analyst at The Gabriel Consulting Group.

"It takes much less power to change the state of a carbon nanotube versus today's transistors," Olds said. "Nanotubes are much better at dissipating heat. You can pack more nanotube transistors onto a chip. We would see devices that can do a whole lot more useful work while using a whole lot less juice -- and that's a great combination."