IBM is working on a different way to cool its Power 575 supercomputer, involving water-chilled copper plates located directly above each of the 448 microprocessors in the device. These are designed to remove all the hot heat generated, and transfer it for use in domestic areas, such as to heat a shower.

While water-cooling is not new, getting so close to the chip is. However, according to IBM researchers, the next step is to get the water even closer to the chip – even inside it. Once in the chip, the water can be channelled out of the computer and sent directly to the heating system for use elsewhere.

See how it works below.