Graphene Will Change the Way We Live

[RCA]

http://bigthink.com/ideas/24381

TL;DR
- Graphene is used to describe single sheets of graphite (as seen in photo above)
- Graphene is the thinnest possible material that is feasible
- Graphene is also about 200 times stronger than steel
- Graphene conducts electricity better than any material known to man at room temperature
- "It would take an elephant, balanced on a pencil, to break through a sheet of graphene the thickness of Saran Wrap."

- Potential applications for the material include:
the replacing of carbon fibers in composite materials to eventually aid in the production of lighter aircraft and satellites; replacing silicon in transistors; embedding the material in plastics to enable them to conduct electricity; graphene-based sensors could sniff out dangerous molecules; increasing the efficiency of electric batteries by use of graphene powder; optoelectronics; stiffer-stronger-lighter plastics; leak-tight, plastic containers that keep food fresh for weeks; transparent conductive coatings for solar cells and displays; stronger wind turbines; stronger medical implants; better sports equipment; supercapacitors; improved conductivity of materials; high-power high frequency electronic devices; artificial membranes for separating two liquid reservoirs; advancements in touchscreens; LCD's; OLED's; graphene nanoribbons could be a way to construct ballistic transistors; and nanogaps in graphene sheets may potentially provide a new technique for rapid DNA sequencing.


Congratulations to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov for their work and winning the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics. This is a game changer...

Previously discussed here:
Who's ready for processors in the terahertz operating at room temperature?

[asoomal]

Graphene body panels and hood LULZ


That's awesomeee.......

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

Don't forget a freaking space elevator.

[S13_love]

Don't forget a freaking space elevator.

I was thinking the same exact thing when I read that.

[Mr1der]

I can have saran wrap armor?

[Chaotic_Warlord]

Sounds like voodoo magik to me, and why on earth would you want to build anything out of something that conducts electricity? That's like walking into a thunderstorm with a metal rod sticking out of your a**.

[snwbrdr435]

Sounds like voodoo magik to me, and why on earth would you want to build anything out of something that conducts electricity? That's like walking into a thunderstorm with a metal rod sticking out of your a**.

What about all the s*** we build out of metal??? Rethink that statement because there are tons of things we build stuff out of that conduct.

[breadbox]

So EVs will be graphene bumper cars?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I read this the other day when they won. Very cool stuff. And they did it all with scotch tape!
I wonder how far away we are from seeing this stuff mass produced.

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

So far, we can only make very small amounts of the stuff (Like 50 micrometer chunks)

[Dattebayo]

Sounds like voodoo magik to me, and why on earth would you want to build anything out of something that conducts electricity? That's like walking into a thunderstorm with a metal rod sticking out of your a**.

A car built with this stuff would be incredible. Imagine the buildings that could be made with it.

[AZhitman]

Wondering if it could be used to pave roads.

If so, let's hold a bake sale for CA.

[Dattebayo]

I don't know why you'd want to pave roads with a conductive substance, from what I know, the fact that tar is an insulator is partly why it is so successful as a road surface when cobined with gravel...

[AZhitman]

Conductivity shouldn't matter, A wet road is conductive.

I was just thinking of durability.

[Dattebayo]

Well we don't use steel in roads, other then re-bar for concrete... Maybe that's it right there! Make re-bar out of it instead.

Also, water isn't really conductive. It's the impurities in it that make it so.

[Watermelonwarrior]

Sounds like voodoo magik to me, and why on earth would you want to build anything out of something that conducts electricity? That's like walking into a thunderstorm with a metal rod sticking out of your a**.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Mass isn't really an issue for roads, durability and traction are the 2 biggest factors (along with ease of construction).

[simmode1]

Ahhhh, more reverse engineered alien technology...

[AZhitman]

Mass isn't really an issue for roads, durability and traction are the 2 biggest factors (along with ease of construction).

I was thinking of the durability aspect (as well as ease of construction)... think of a bigass contraption, laying this stuff down like Saran Wrap.

[RCA]

Any one remember that video or solar panel roads?

Well having a road made of graphene would definitely help get that energy to the grid.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

All the surface area of all the roads in this country would make for one hell of a solar energy generator.

[hannibal]

I bet this stuff costs 1000x what carbon fiber costs. Demand for CF still exceeds supply, and I'm sure demand for graphene will exceed manufacuring capacity for decades to come. No graphene hoods til Nissans fly!

Very cool though.

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

Keep in mind the development time for consumer carbon fiber was over two decades and we are just now discovering graphene. And considering our materials science is light years ahead of the 70's, a decade until we have graphene baseball bats isn't too far fetched.

[Alfador]

The amount of stuff that is out there that will "change the way we live" that hasn't come to fruition yet is pretty staggering. One has to wonder when we'll start seeing tangible results. I mean, I'm still waiting for my carbon nanotubes, the 5 or 6 miracle cures supposedly discovered and a few other neat things. To be honest, I don't see it coming soon. The last real serious material inovations we had that affected our everyday lives were PVC and Nylon, like 50-70 years ago. I'm not saying these things aren't legitimate, but I think it will be a while before anything life changing occurs.

[RobPaulson]

Ahhhh, more reverse engineered alien technology...
http://www.evilscience.co.uk/wp-content ... t-frog.JPG

[scotty-2-forty]

Sh1t better be biodegradable ... Wha? I'm jus'sayin'!

[HashiriyaS14]

Wow, so they basically invented Duranium?

That's pretty boss.

[RCA]

Sh1t better be biodegradable ... Wha? I'm jus'sayin'!

It is carbon.

The last real serious material inovations we had that affected our everyday lives were PVC and Nylon, like 50-70 years ago. I'm not saying these things aren't legitimate, but I think it will be a while before anything life changing occurs.

Silicon transistors / The personal computer / cell phones, The Internet, credit cards?

[Dattebayo]

It is carbon.

So are diamonds. Your argument is invalid.

[RCA]

It is carbon.

So are diamonds. Your argument is invalid.

Any organic substance is biodegradable.