Transistors

The company says the transistors in its next generation of processors will be made using hafnium, a kind of metal, instead of silicon.

Transistors are made of solid materials such as silicon or germanium whose electrical properties lie somewhere between conductors and insulators: they are semiconductors.

But as transistors become tinier, they waste more power and generate more heat – all in a smaller and smaller space, as evidenced by the warmth emanating from the bottom of a laptop.