As modern electronic devices shrink, so do the metal electrical wires inside them. However, they start to run into serious problems the smaller they get. Conventional wires generate excessive heat and suffer a massive spike in electrical resistance that affects overall performance.

Carbon wires are touted as a possible replacement because some types could potentially carry huge amounts of current without degrading, while taking up a fraction of the space.

And one possible candidate could be a new class of ultrathin conductors known as carbon pentaheptite nanoribbons, synthesized by researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China.