
Making Electronics out of Coal - aethertap
https://news.mit.edu/2016/making-electronics-out-coal-0419
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smoyer
The resistive properties of coal are no surprise (7 orders of magnitude) since
resistors have been made from carbon film and carbon composite for 50 years. I
think the big problem there is whether the coal has a consistent resistence.

They talk about how much work it is to purify silicon, but won't the same
problem exist for coal? Any semiconductor has to be doped to form transistors,
diodes, etc. It also has to be pure so that the tiny geometries used for these
devices can be reliably transferred from the masks.

Call me skeptical, but the material to make purified silicon is _more_
abundant than coal (and cheaper to mine). I think this will ultimately prove
cost prohibitive.

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baltcode
But the cost of pure silicon is not due to the cost of the raw silicate. It is
due to the energy requirements of purification. AFAIK

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smoyer
Right ... But my point was that coal costs more and will likely need costly
purification.

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baltcode
Yeah, but is it specifically about its chemistry and electrical properties
that makes it interesting?

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macawfish
oh great, more reasons to chop down the mountains

