Clock speeds used to be the benchmark for how quickly are computer was perceived to be, with megahertz eventually running into gigahertz, before leveling off a few years ago as machines failed to cope with the increase in heat.

However a new discovery of phenomenon that appears to contradict some of the known laws of physics could mean that the race towards higher clock speeds could be on again in the future.

This is because researchers at MIT have been able to operate a semiconductive material at a significantly lower voltage than has been possible with silicon, and so reducing the overheating in a chip.

With current silicon chips electrons gather under the gate of a transistor which creates a channel through which a current can pass and turns the material into a conductor, with the power that a chip consumes and the heat it gives off equaling to approximately the square of the operating voltage according to the researchers.

So therefore if the voltage at which the gate operates can be lowered at all then there is going to be a lot less heat generated, and means clock speeds can be ramped up again.