Modern technology runs on silicon, but one day it may run on tin, according to theoretical physicists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, the tech organization IEEE Spectrum reported.

Because tin, when stripped down to a few atoms, is potentially (by researchers' calculations; tests are ongoing) the only material on earth that conducts electricity 100 percent efficiently at the same temperatures at which computer processors operate, "Silicon Valley" may one day be renamed "Tin Valley," according to lead researcher, Shoucheng Zhang, a physics professor at Stanford and the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences. Tin could comprise the wiring that make up computer processors, decreasing power and heat consumption, according to the press release.

To be technical, the area famous for technological development should be called "Stanene Valley," which is what scientists have dubbed the new material. Stannum is latin for tin and the "ene" is a reference to graphene, another type of single layer material with similar potential for electrical innovation, according to the release. Ten years ago, graphene was projected to one day replace silicon, but scientists have yet to confirm that possibility, according to IEEE. To determine if stanene is the true "ene" of the future, researchers are awaiting the results of experiments still in progress.

"Stanene could increase the speed and lower the power needs of future generations of computer chips, if our prediction is confirmed by experiments that are underway in several laboratories around the world," said Zhang

Zhang and his fellow esearchers have been studying topographical insulators, or materials that conduct electricity on their outer edge but not on the inside, for the last decade, according to the release. Reduced to a single layer thick, the outer edge conducts electricity at 100 percent efficiency and forces "electrons to move in defined lanes without any speed limit" and "without resistance," according to Zhang. Given that property and stanene's ability to function -- pending further tests (researchers also add fluorine ions to the layer of tin) -- under similar conditions as computer processors, the "thin tin" could truly transform the computer industry.

"Eventually, we can imagine stanene being used for many more circuit structures, including replacing silicon in the hearts of transistors," Zhang said.