Is graphene a miracle material?

"It would take an elephant, balanced on a pencil, to break through a sheet of graphene the thickness of clingfilm"

The material graphene was touted as "the next big thing" even before its pioneers were handed the Nobel Prize last year. Many believe it could spell the end for silicon and change the future of computers and other devices forever.

Said to be the strongest material ever measured, an improvement upon and a replacement for silicon and the most conductive material known to man, its properties have sent the science world - and subsequently the media - into a spin.

This material, 200 times stronger than steel is also a great thermal and electrical conductor and can be used to develop semi-conductor circuits and computer parts.

"You could theoretically roll up your iPhone and stick it behind your ear like a pencil,"

If graphene can be compared to the way plastic is used today, everything from crisp packets to clothing could be digitised once the technology is established. The future could see credit cards contain as much processing power as your current smartphone.

Is graphene a miracle material?

reply to post by Griffo


It's pretty awesome, but not a miracle.
Miracle material is more like invisible material.
Like the boxers i'm wearing.

reply to post by goos3

According to the Nobel prize committee, a hypothetical one-metre-square hammock of perfect graphene could support a four-kilogram cat - the hammock would weigh 0.77 milligrams, less than a cat's whisker, and would be virtually invisible

reply to post by Griffo


I agree that it is indeed a mega-material...but,

..is it recyclable ???

Or will our descendents be left up to their necks in a sea of Graphene !!

Cosmic...

news.bbc.co.uk...

The band structure of graphite was first theorised and calculated by PR Wallace in 1947, though for it to exist in the real world was thought impossible Due to the timing of this discovery, some conspiracy theorists have linked it to materials at the Roswell "crash site"

1947 was the year of the Roswell crash . This year shows up an absurd amount in electronic research also if you really look into it. It was also the year that the material that led to the first transistor was `stumbled ` upon.

reply to post by Griffo

Dang, You got me on that one.

reply to post by Cosmic4life


Graphene is carbon, so yes it should be recyclable.
en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by Griffo


Oh lord!!
I hope they do not start to package food in this stuff, we'll all starve!!
Neat stuff though.

What about carbon nano-tubes, I've heard they are the strongest thing imaginable.

Carbon nanotubes are the strongest and stiffest materials yet discovered in terms of tensile strength and elastic modulus respectively. This strength results from the covalent sp2 bonds formed between the individual carbon atoms. In 2000, a multi-walled carbon nanotube was tested to have a tensile strength of 63 gigapascals (GPa).[17] (For illustration, this translates into the ability to endure tension of a weight equivalent to 6422 kg on a cable with cross-section of 1 mm2.)

Copy and pasted from wikipedia, because I'm too lazy to paraphrase

Reminds me of the story I heard when the farmer had a visit and the aliens gave him pancakes. They were covered in some sort of metal suit.

It's just another advancement in the technology of controlling the human being. It would be a great advancement for humanity, if it had the right intentions. Unfortunately every advancement we make is twisted against us.


Not to mention producing the stuff is also done using large amounts of toxic chemicals, and lots of energy.

If a way of creating this material without damaging or consuming fantastical amounts of natural resources can be found, then I would say this is a miracle material . However, if this stuff causes more problems than it solves,then I would say its a white elephant.

reply to post by Tephra


It's an allotrope of carbon, the whole sheet is only one molecule thick, it gets its strength from being densely packed into a honeycomb shape (imagine molecular chicken wire). It is similar in composition to graphite

Originally posted by Griffo
reply to post by goos3

 

According to the Nobel prize committee, a hypothetical one-metre-square hammock of perfect graphene could support a four-kilogram cat - the hammock would weigh 0.77 milligrams, less than a cat's whisker, and would be virtually invisible

So that's how the Cheshire Cat did it.

reply to post by Griffo
Already a thread about this.
www.abovetopsecret.com...