DailyDirt: The Promises Of Graphene
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Materials made of carbon are amazingly useful. We’ve pointed out various cool things that graphene can do before, but the list really seems to go on and on (even though there are less than a handful of products on the market that actually incorporate graphene). Still, graphene could improve a lot of things, and material science often takes decades to really establish a market for a specific material. Check out these links… and maybe in 30 years or so, we’ll finally get to see some of these things.
- Graphene, like many other “miracle materials” before it, was predicted to create amazing advances in a wide range of products due to its unique chemical and physical properties. The material was discovered in 2004 from super thin layers of graphite, and now there are thousands of graphene-related patents. However, it may still be a while before widespread commercial applications are a reality. stuck to adhesive tape. [url]
- If only graphene could be produced in large-scale amounts, we’d have all kinds of crazy strong stuff — like really lightweight bulletproof vests. Lab experiments show that graphene is better than Kevlar, but the catch is that no one has been able to make cheap graphene in large quantities. /sad trombone [url]
- Carbon nanotubes have exhibited an interesting ability to generate electricity via a thermopower wave phenonmenon. Igniting a combustible substance at one end of a carbon nanotube thread with a laser can push electrons around, and graphene could be another material that this phenomenon works with that’s even more efficient. [url]
After you’ve finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.
Filed Under: carbon nanotubes, graphene, kevlar, materials, nanotechnology, science, stronger than steel, thermopower wave
Comments on “DailyDirt: The Promises Of Graphene”
Carbon Everywhere
Someday saying something is penny will mean it is strengthened with Carbon NanoTube or CNT. Penny Crete, Penny Plastic and Penny Fibers will be just the first of just about penny everything.
Carbon is awesome, someday people will be made with carbon!
Two sentences that sum up what's wrong with patents.
Does anyone else see the inditetment of the current patent system revealing in these two sentences that immetiatey follow each other in the original article?
It looks like, either they are holding progress back, or at best will have expired long before there are any applications and therefore can’t realistically serve as an incentive to anyone (excepting of course the lawyers).
So far, I only know of one application of graphene in consumer products: as a memory foam additive to improve its heat conductivity in beds.
Re: Re:
There are several. The very first was in a special ink that allows EAS (that established anti-shoplifting tech that requires you to walk between sensors on your way out) to be implemented in the printing on a products packaging rather than requiring a tag to be attached.
There are also graphene-based tennis rackets, skis, bicycle wheels, helmets, and other sporting equipment. It’s also being used in electronic thermal paste.
There’s more, but you get the idea.