See that pencil lead up there?  Technically, it’s not lead, it’s graphite.  Graphite is what’s in all our pencils these days, so I don’t know why we still call it lead.  Graphite itself is nothing new, but graphene?  Now that’s new.  Graphene is basically carbon, extracted from graphite and arranged into sheets one atom thick, and it’s enough to win two UK-based physicists the Nobel Prize for Physics this year.

Drs. Andrei Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were at the University of Manchester when they submitted their first papers on graphene in 2004.  Since then, the work has advanced to the degree that they are able to produce sheets of the nearly-transparent metal, which is as conductive as copper in terms of electricity channeling, making it perfect for computer chips.  Also, graphene is the most heat-conductive metal on the planet (right now), making it a perfect eventual replacement for silicon.

The two men were caught by surprise by their Nobel win.  Dr. Novoselov is one of the youngest people to ever receive a Nobel Prize.  Added Professor Geim, who wasn’t at the Nobel ceremony, “I’m fine, I slept well.  I didn’t expect the Nobel Prize this year.”

Tags: graphene, nobel prize for physics, nobel prize winner, sheet of carbon one atom thick, ultra-light graphite coating, Andrei Geim, Konstantin Novoselov, University of Manchester, new materials, new construction material, Nobel Prize for physics, weird science

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