The day after it was announced my 'application of quantum physics' professor actually changed his entire lecture to discussing graphene.IanKennedy wrote:So just how is it different from plain old graphite?
Its atomic structure means it is effectively 2 dimensional, giving it quite different (and outstanding) thermal, mechanical, physical and electrical properties. Not being a material scientist specialising in carbon structure, I couldn't give you the intricate mathematical details, however some fairly basic quantum mechanics would give you some answers that are very different to 'stacked' graphene (ie graphite). All about the 'boundary conditions', as my lecturers would say! Electrons are bound to 2 dimensions, not 3, and this is what is generally meant when people call graphene 2 dimensional, even though it does have an atom's thickness.
What I do know on the future practical side is pretty much already out there - it's insanely strong and light, it has very little electrical resistance (owing to electrons, and apparantly is more slippery than teflon?
Shran - why hadn't anyone managed it before? The same reason as to why no one has calculated the precise number of cupboards in the world; no one particularly cared.