Why Graphene Scientists Won the Nobel Prize

By Tim Carmody
October 5, 2010 |

Imagine “crystals one atom or molecule thick, essentially two-dimensional planes of atoms shaved from conventional crystals

The pair then worked out how to make field-effect transistors using the material and discovered that electrons in the device were able to travel ballistically – that is, without being scattered – from the source to the drain electrode at room temperature.

like a superconductor?

The discovery of graphene triggered a surge of interest in the wonder material. Other researchers, for example, have found that graphene not only conducts heat very well but is also the "strongest material in the world".
Like at Roswell?

http://tinyurl.com/26whnyx

At a practical level, one team of scientists has created a new kind of chemical sensor by combining graphene with DNA,

http://tinyurl.com/2ahj57l

Graphene is stronger and stiffer than diamond, yet can be stretched by a quarter of its length, like rubber. Its surface area is the largest known for its weight.”
a new type of graphene-based, flash-like storage memory, more dense and less lossy than any existing storage technology. ... earlier this year reported techniques to enhance and direct its conductivity by creating wire-like defects to send current flowing through graphene strips.
Texas’s Graphene Energy is using the film to create new ultracapacitators to store and transmit electrical power. Companies currently using carbon nanotubes to create wearable electronics — clothes that can power and charge electrical devices — are beginning to switch to graphene, which is thinner and potentially less expensive to produce.
true potential of graphene lies in its ability to conduct light as well as electricity. Strong, flexible, light-sensitive graphene could improve the efficiency of solar cells and LEDs, as well as aiding in the production of next-generation devices like flexible touch screens, photodetectors and ultrafast lasers. In particular, graphene could replace rare and expensive metals like platinum and iridium, performing the same tasks with greater efficiency at a fraction of the cost.

graphene “makes possible experiments with high-speed quantum particles that researchers at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, can only dream of.” Because graphene is effectively only two-dimensional, electrons can move through its lattice structure with virtually no resistance. In fact, they behave like Heisenberg’s relative particles, with an effective resting mass of zero.