By Rachel Winston
In the not too distant future, monitors will be imbedded in clothing fabric, vehicle paint will withstand object penetration, computers will be more powerful, and any hard electronic device will be bendable. For anyone who uses a computer to write articles, design newsletters, edit videos, operate machinery, or monitor workflow, the ability to process more information and projects efficiently is just around the corner. Graphene’s amazing properties will transform the way we live and work within the next decade.
This one atom thick sheet of carbon offers one of the thinnest and most durable materials known. Graphene’s properties are uncanny. Imagine what you could produce with a fabric that is 200 times stronger than steel by weight and can be rolled, folded, and bended? Painted on buildings, it could prevent damage in an earthquake, tornado, or hurricane. Used in the construction of bridges, planes, spacecraft, ships, containers, etc, it could hold any weight.
Graphene conducts electricity a thousand times better than copper. Anything requiring a power source could be more efficiently produced without dependence upon expensive, non-renewable elements. Silicon has come to its limit of increased utility. Also, electricity utilization will be lowered and new and costly infrastructure (e.g. generating stations, nuclear energy towers, and hydroelectric plants) would not need to be expanded. Now, imagine bioengineering technologies like electronic eyes, fully programmable and lifelike prosthetics, and manufactured hearts.
Graphene is stronger than a diamond and will undoubtedly be used to reinforce plastic, and strengthen glass and metal. More recent discoveries have shown that graphene can be made to have magnetic properties which will allow for on off switches and attraction properties to secure the graphene to other materials.
Two Russian scientists, Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim, won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for their discoveries. Although graphite is commonly used in pencil lead, the transformation occurred when they were able to pull the thousand layers of apart to create a flat, ‘chicken-wire’ structure of covalently bonded carbon atoms.
Material science is on the forefront of technology with engineers scrambling to envision and create the next new product innovation using graphene. Billions of dollars are being spent on research and pilot projects at companies and universities around the world. The future is being invented today as the boundaries and limitations of what we believed to be true are being re-envisioned.
This ultra-strong, ultra lightweight, ultra durable material will change the way we design every new product, in areas ranging from medicine, communications, transportation, construction, and energy. This game-changing moment will spawn a vastly different tomorrow.
In the not too distant future, monitors will be imbedded in clothing fabric, vehicle paint will withstand object penetration, computers will be more powerful, and any hard electronic device will be bendable. For anyone who uses a computer to write articles, design newsletters, edit videos, operate machinery, or monitor workflow, the ability to process more information and projects efficiently is just around the corner. Graphene’s amazing properties will transform the way we live and work within the next decade.
This one atom thick sheet of carbon offers one of the thinnest and most durable materials known. Graphene’s properties are uncanny. Imagine what you could produce with a fabric that is 200 times stronger than steel by weight and can be rolled, folded, and bended? Painted on buildings, it could prevent damage in an earthquake, tornado, or hurricane. Used in the construction of bridges, planes, spacecraft, ships, containers, etc, it could hold any weight.
Graphene conducts electricity a thousand times better than copper. Anything requiring a power source could be more efficiently produced without dependence upon expensive, non-renewable elements. Silicon has come to its limit of increased utility. Also, electricity utilization will be lowered and new and costly infrastructure (e.g. generating stations, nuclear energy towers, and hydroelectric plants) would not need to be expanded. Now, imagine bioengineering technologies like electronic eyes, fully programmable and lifelike prosthetics, and manufactured hearts.
Graphene is stronger than a diamond and will undoubtedly be used to reinforce plastic, and strengthen glass and metal. More recent discoveries have shown that graphene can be made to have magnetic properties which will allow for on off switches and attraction properties to secure the graphene to other materials.
Two Russian scientists, Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim, won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for their discoveries. Although graphite is commonly used in pencil lead, the transformation occurred when they were able to pull the thousand layers of apart to create a flat, ‘chicken-wire’ structure of covalently bonded carbon atoms.
Material science is on the forefront of technology with engineers scrambling to envision and create the next new product innovation using graphene. Billions of dollars are being spent on research and pilot projects at companies and universities around the world. The future is being invented today as the boundaries and limitations of what we believed to be true are being re-envisioned.
This ultra-strong, ultra lightweight, ultra durable material will change the way we design every new product, in areas ranging from medicine, communications, transportation, construction, and energy. This game-changing moment will spawn a vastly different tomorrow.