IBM has announced a prototype computer that is powered and cooled by an electrolyte liquid. The computer gets its inspiration from the human brain, and IBM wants to replicate that. The brain uses 20 watts of energy per day, and that's quite hard to mimic.

But IBM is using a new "redox flow" system which will be quite close to the brain. Two IBM researchers, Patrick Ruch and Bruno Michel have demoed the prototype last week at IBM's Zurich lab.

The "electronic blood" is pumped through the computer and carries power as it pulls heat. The experimental computer's goal is to house one petaflop computer in something that will fit on a desk by the year 2060. Bruno Michel explained:
We want to fit a supercomputer inside a sugar cube. To do that, we need a paradigm shift in electronics — we need to be motivated by our brain. The human brain is 10,000 times more dense and efficient than any computer today.
To put things into comparison, BBC explained that Watson used 85,000 watts when it battled Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, where each man used less than 20 watts of energy.

[BBC]