PSN ID
by Grand Graphene: Super-Thin, Nearly-Transparent Material
Every once in a while, a material comes along that is so useful
researchers have to dig for years to uncover all of its uses. Graphene
is one of those materials; it was first created in a lab in 2004, but
new uses are still being found for it today. Graphene is simply a
material made of ultra-thin graphite just one atom thick. It’s
astonishingly good at conducting electrons and is just about
transparent. So far, uses for graphene have been somewhat limited
because of the way the material was produced: in tiny flakes. But a
group of South Korean researchers recently worked out a way to make
paper-like sheets of graphene. The new graphene film will allow for even more applications of the amazing material.
Graphene sheets could be used for touch screens, just like the ones
currently used for credit card terminal signature pads. It’s less
brittle, less expensive, and performs better than the material currently
used for signature pads. But maybe the most exciting new applications
on the horizon for graphene take advantage of its inherent
anti-bacterial property. It’s super-light and allows a great deal of
light to pass through it, so it could be incorporated into
anti-bacterial bandages, clothing and other textiles that resist
bacterial growth, and even food and live tissue packaging. It seems
almost possible that graphene is poised to become the plastic of the
future.
Every once in a while, a material comes along that is so useful
researchers have to dig for years to uncover all of its uses. Graphene
is one of those materials; it was first created in a lab in 2004, but
new uses are still being found for it today. Graphene is simply a
material made of ultra-thin graphite just one atom thick. It’s
astonishingly good at conducting electrons and is just about
transparent. So far, uses for graphene have been somewhat limited
because of the way the material was produced: in tiny flakes. But a
group of South Korean researchers recently worked out a way to make
paper-like sheets of graphene. The new graphene film will allow for even more applications of the amazing material.
Graphene sheets could be used for touch screens, just like the ones
currently used for credit card terminal signature pads. It’s less
brittle, less expensive, and performs better than the material currently
used for signature pads. But maybe the most exciting new applications
on the horizon for graphene take advantage of its inherent
anti-bacterial property. It’s super-light and allows a great deal of
light to pass through it, so it could be incorporated into
anti-bacterial bandages, clothing and other textiles that resist
bacterial growth, and even food and live tissue packaging. It seems
almost possible that graphene is poised to become the plastic of the
future.
