Researchers have uncovered a material that they say has distinct advantages over traditional silicon and even graphene for use in electronics, a material that would allow transistors to consume 100,000 times less energy in standby state than traditional silicon transistors? Meet  Molybdenite! This mineral isn’t a rare earth or blood mineral, it’s abundant in nature and is commonly used as an element in steel alloys. Thanks to its similarity in appearance and feel to graphite, it’s used extensively as an additive in lubricant. Incredibly the mineral has never before been studied for use in electronics, which appears to have been an oversight with new research showing that molybdenite is a very effective semiconductor that could enable smaller and more energy efficient transistors, computer chips and solar cells. Andras Kis, director of Switzerland’s Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and Structures, announced last week that the first working molybdenite chip has been successfully tested: “We have built an initial prototype, putting from two to six serial transistors in place, and shown that basic binary logic operations were possible, which proves that we can make a larger chip.”  M★S  READ MORE