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'Mucking about' with pencil lead and sticky tape wins Nobel Prize for Physics

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Proud Mary

Tue Oct 05 2010, 03:34PM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

'Mucking about' with pencil lead and sticky tape wins Nobel Prize for Physics

The discovery of a new wonder material derived from pencil lead and sticky tape has won two British based scientists the Nobel Prize in Physics.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Telegraph online edition
Published: 1:11PM BST 05 Oct 2010

Nobel Physics prize won by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov
Konstantin Novoselov (left) and Andre Geim Photo: PA

Professor Andre Geim and Dr Konstantin Novoselov, at Manchester University, discovered that super-thin flakes of carbon take on unique properties that could revolutionise the electronics industry.

They produced the one atom thick material from a block of pencil lead or graphite using nothing more than sticky tape in 2004.

Despite its humble origins, the material forms "the perfect atomic lattice" â€“ a bit like a microscopic chicken wire â€“ and is set to revolutionise everything from computer chips, to home gadgets and even transport.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences lauded Prof Geim, 51, and Dr Novoselov, 36, for having "shown that carbon in such a flat form has exceptional properties that originate from the remarkable world of quantum physics".

Experiments with graphene could lead to the development of new material and 'the manufacture of innovative electronics,' the jury said.

Prof Geim is a Dutch national while Dr Novoselov holds British and Russian citizenship. Both are natives of Russia and started their careers in physics there.

Just one atom thick, graphene is the world's thinnest and strongest nano-material, almost transparent and able to conduct electricity and heat.

As a result, graphene is described as the best material to replace silicon semiconductors.

Graphene transistors would in theory be able to run at faster speeds and cope with higher temperatures than today's computer chips.

That would resolving a fast-growing problem facing chip engineers who want to boost power and shrink semiconductor size but without raising temperatures, the bugbear of computing.

Its transparency means it could potentially be used in touch screens and even solar cells on windows, and when mixed with plastics would provide light but super-strong composite materials for next-generation satellites, planes and cars.

The Nobel jury acknowledged that most of graphene's practical applications "exist only in our fantasies, but many are already being tested."

Prof Geim told the committee he was looking at emails and looking at archives when he got the call.

"I slept well, I didn't expect the Nobel Prize this year," he said, adding he was going straight back to work.

"In my opinion there are several categories of Nobel Prize winners, one which after getting the Nobel Prize stop doing anything for the rest of their life. It is a big disservice for the community," he said.

The other category of people, which he said he belonged to, were "people who think people think they won the Nobel Prize by accident so they start working even harder than before".

Nancy Rothwell, President and vice-chancellor of the University of Manchester, said they were "delighted" for the two scientists.

"This is fantastic news," she said. "We are delighted that Andre and Konstantin's work on graphene has been recognised at the very highest level by the 2010 Nobel Prize Committee.

"This is a wonderful example of a fundamental discovery based on scientific curiosity with major practical, social and economic benefits for society."

The award of the Nobel Prize means there are currently four Nobel Laureates at the University of Manchester.

Dr Mark Miodownik, Head of the Materials Research Group, King's College London, said: "The award of this Nobel Prize will bring a smile to the face of every scientist because it shows you can still get a Nobel Prize by mucking about in a lab.

"Professors Geim and Novoselov happened across graphene, a new material that has the potential to revolutionise electronics, by discovering they could pluck atomic layers of carbon from the lead of a pencil using nothing more sophisticated than sticky tape.

"It turns out that anyone who has ever held a pencil could have discovered this amazing new material, but it was Professors Geim and Novoselov who took the time to look carefully.

"Bravo! Another reason to recognise that British Science is a special culture, admired throughout the world for its originality and genius, and needs to be nurtured not cut by the government if they want to foster future technology and wealth in the UK."

klugesmith

Tue Oct 05 2010, 04:20PM

Registered Member #2099 Joined: Wed Apr 29 2009, 12:22AM
Location: Los Altos, California
Posts: 1716

That's the same Andre Geim who made headlines by levitating a live frog at the high field magnet lab.

Proud Mary

Tue Oct 05 2010, 04:54PM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

Here is a Scientific American step-by-step guide to making your own graphene:

Adam Munich

Tue Oct 05 2010, 08:24PM

Registered Member #2893 Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242

Klugesmith wrote ...

That's the same Andre Geim who made headlines by levitating a live frog at the high field magnet lab.

So that's where this video came from.

IntraWinding

Wed Oct 06 2010, 02:56PM

Registered Member #2261 Joined: Mon Aug 03 2009, 01:19AM
Location: London, UK
Posts: 581

BBC's radio program 'Discovery' on Graphene
Apparently they make it by the yard now!!!

803

Wed Oct 06 2010, 09:09PM

Registered Member #2807 Joined: Fri Apr 16 2010, 08:10PM
Location:
Posts: 191

WOW

I wish I could have discovered it.....

pencil lead and tape....

Who knew?

aonomus

Wed Oct 06 2010, 10:14PM

Registered Member #1497 Joined: Thu May 22 2008, 05:24AM
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 801

Well, even if you produced graphene, you wouldn't have been able to characterize it without the instrument facility they had access to.

Not to be negative, but 6 years is a bit soon for awarding a Nobel prize, alot of organic chemists don't get Nobels until a decade+, and that is only if they made major game changing chemistry.

Edit for clarity: 6 years is a bit soon because the group wants to make sure that your discovery not only was game changing, but that it had an impact on academia and industry.

rp181

Wed Oct 06 2010, 10:42PM

Registered Member #1062 Joined: Tue Oct 16 2007, 02:01AM
Location:
Posts: 1529

Problem with graphene is getting it on to what you want. Not only due to the fragility, but there is a lack of any open chemical bonds.

At summer job, worked with graphene grown onto silicon carbide for electronics. Wasn't really "grown" but the silicon carbide was sublimated to form a graphene layer.

Graphene makes a great semiconductor, but not due to its speed capability (Something that starts with ammonium or something like that holds the record), but it can be made very small for obvious reasons.

wylie

Fri Oct 08 2010, 08:09AM

Registered Member #882 Joined: Sat Jul 07 2007, 04:32AM
Location:
Posts: 103

Apparently they make it by the yard now!!!

Metric lengths available no later than mid-2015.

Chris Russell

Fri Oct 08 2010, 11:43AM

... not Russel!
Registered Member #1 Joined: Thu Jan 26 2006, 12:18AM
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Posts: 1052

wylie wrote ...

Metric lengths available no later than mid-2015.

Back in my day, graphene came in spools of 40 rods to the hogshead, and that's the way I likes it.

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