[Red Badger]

Not all pins on an IC are always used. Some are there for stability and standard footprint

[TXnMA]

"Not all pins on an IC are always used. Some are there for stability and standard footprint"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Precisely. (FWIW, I was one of the pioneers in the "SMT " ['Surface Mount Technology'] Electronics Packaging Revolution" back in the late 1970s-early 80s -- that made the pictured DIP package virtually obsolete now.)

If that image is truly representative of the new technology, we'd best not be getting excited about it, yet:

1. If (as labeled) that unit only produces 100 MICRO Watts, it would take one MILLION of them to constitute a modest 100 Watt power supply.

2. Since the "board footprint" of a single 22-pin DIP is over 0.5 square inch, enough to supply 100 watts would occupy over 3500 square feet. (Compare that to the square footage of your home...)

Even a one watt supply would be 35 (thirty-five) square feet. Envision putting that in your pocket...

Methinks this fits into the category of "We've just observed a minuscule physical effect -- wonder what we could claim to do with it..."

TXnMA