This is Scientific American 60-Second Science.

I'm Christopher and Daljata.

Microchips are everywhere.

They're in our computers and smartphones, of course.

But also TVs, thermostats, fridges, washing machines, cars.

And that ever-growing constellation of devices embedded with computer brains and internet connectivity

is known as the Internet of Things.

Lots of other stuff, though, like a carton of milk,

doesn't have a microchip or smart sensor.

Not to say that it couldn't.

For example, imagine smart labels on food products that could also be used by date,

depending on how they've been handled.

John Biggs is a distinguished engineer at the semiconductor company ARM.

He and a team of researchers have now developed a proof of concept flexible chip

that could be used for applications like outfitting a milk jug with computer smarts.

And they say this chip is 12 times more complex than previous attempts.

They describe it in a recent issue of the journal Nature.

They claim the microprocessor is cheap to build.

And it consists of thin film transistors on a substrate of flexible, high-performance plastic,

rather than rigid silicon.

This is just 40,000 transistors implemented in about 60 square millimeters.

And just to compare that to, well, for example,

...