Graphene, the world's first 2-dimensional fabric

Researchers at The University of Manchester and Chernogolovka, Russia have created the first-ever single-atom-thick substance, a fabric they call "graphene".  The substance is stable, flexible, and highly conductive, and researchers believe it could be used to create computers made from a single molecule.  Professor Andre Geim at The University of Manchester was able to extract a single plane of graphite crystal, resulting in the new fabric.  The hope is that the fabric will be used in the future to create nanotubes, transistors for microscopic computers, that could result in some seriously small electronic gadgetry.

[Nat Roth @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

umm.. bt?

[Tony Paygane @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

Not like that anyway. I thought it was going to be any kind of posting but it seems it needs to be the BT posting that needs to be up for comment. "BUT you'll never know" hahaha.

[Chris Thompson @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

Hi, I'm chris and I'll be your pedant today.

An atomically flat sheet of carbon atoms, one atom thick, has a thickness equal to the diameter of one carbon atom.

Checking any handy periodic table will give you Carbon's atomic radius of 0.91 Angstrom.

So that sheet is 1.82 Angstrom thick, or 0.182 nanometers.

Thin? Definitely. Two dimensional? Not by a long shot.

[nowak @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

Pedantic correction: "single-atom-thick" is really, really small, but it's still three dimensional.

[RevAaron @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

what's the deal with these bt posts?

also, it really isn't true to say that this is a 2 dimensional fabric. I mean, it's an atom thick, which makes it very much so three-Dee. I mean, is paper only two dimensional because it's only a millimeter? Is notebook, because it's only once centimeter?

[Mike S. @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

Um, try reading the article first, "pedants." "Two-dimensional" is actually the technical term they're using":

EMBARGO: 2:00 pm US Eastern Time Thursday, 21 October 2004
Discovery of Two-Dimensional Fabric Denotes Dawn of New Materials Era
(Posted 18 Oct, 2004)

Researchers at The University of Manchester and Chernogolovka, Russia have discovered the world's first single-atom-thick fabric, which reveals the existence of a new class of materials and may lead to computers made from a single molecule. The research is to be published in Science on 22 October.

The team led by Professor Andre Geim at The University of Manchester, has succeeded in extracting individual planes of carbon atoms from graphite crystals, which has resulted in the production of the thinnest possible fabric - graphene. The resulting atomic sheet is stable, highly flexible and strong and remarkably conductive. The nanofabric belongs to the family of fullerene molecules, which were discovered during the last two decades, but is the first two-dimensional fullerene.

[Nick @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

This is a very interesting article. You're right about it not literally being a two dimensional surface because the carbon atom does have a radius, but as far as fullerenes are concerned (which are usually arranged in some sort of spherical lattice) it is very interesting the way the surface is constructed.

[Phil Boardman @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

You can say nano computer if you like, but just don't tell me there's a single molecule that can replace an entire PC. Please go back to year 8 science and learn the difference between elements, compounds and mixtures!

[mac @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

that is crazy looking. good stuff

[White Rabbit @ Dec 19th 2005 2:10AM]

In reference to two posts up, I would say you can build a computer from a single molecule..

Not even a very large molecule, if you compare it to say, strands of DNA or polymers in general.

Such technology, using a sheet based on graphene, could be functionalised, and have tethers going out to amplification instrumentation (screen, keyboard etc).

The tethers is where the molecule would end, but as long as everything is bonded by non-ionic or "non-transient" type bonds, its a single molecule..

As for the argument about whether it is really 2D or not, is futile, as even the smallest sub atomic particle cannot be described as having 1D (negating quantum freakiness).

Dimensionality is a theoretical construction only, but this material certainly comes about as close as is possible in the realm of matter.

Forget the trees, check out the forest... ;-)