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Research into graphene wins Nobel Prize
After some hubbub this summer about graphene-coated lithium batteries that charge in minutes, some scientists at the University of California, Berkeley have found another (cooler?) use for the single-atom-thick carbon material. It turns out that they’ve been able to make the electrons in graphene react as if they were exposed to a very strong magnetic field--something that has big implications for how we build the smallest, most basic parts of electronic devices.
Earlier this year, Michael Crommie, a physicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and a team of 7 other scientists noticed that straining and stretching these thin sheets of carbon as if you were pulling a bed sheet at three of its four corners produced little wrinkles--called nanobubbles.
The electrons around these graphene nanobubbles acted as if they where experiencing up to 300 Tesla of magnetic force--despite the lack of a sufficient magnetic field. (As a point of reference, most MRIs have traditional magnetic forces of up to 3 Tesla. Experimentally, magnets of up to 100 Tesla exist in national laboratories, but they can be dangerous to operate.) Bizarrely, nothing outside of the electrons themselves were affected, so despite the tremendous 300 Tesla force, it was still safe for the scientists to observe the graphene without excessive precaution.
Crommie was particularly excited about the control that the scientists could potentially demonstrate over electrons around the graphene nanobubbles. The ability to control the existence of such powerful magnetic-like forces could potentially lead to the development of smaller, more powerful transistor switches in semi-conductors.
The study is ongoing and Crommie said the team at LBNL is working on reproducing the effect using different substrates (for this experiment, the graphene was grown on platinum, and now the team wants to produce the same effect after growing graphene on other, less conductive materials). As far as their advance towards controlling the graphene electrons for use in electronic devices, Crommie says progress is being made: “You have to create these very complex strain patterns and now we have new ideas about how to achieve this.“
Earlier this year, Michael Crommie, a physicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and a team of 7 other scientists noticed that straining and stretching these thin sheets of carbon as if you were pulling a bed sheet at three of its four corners produced little wrinkles--called nanobubbles.
The electrons around these graphene nanobubbles acted as if they where experiencing up to 300 Tesla of magnetic force--despite the lack of a sufficient magnetic field. (As a point of reference, most MRIs have traditional magnetic forces of up to 3 Tesla. Experimentally, magnets of up to 100 Tesla exist in national laboratories, but they can be dangerous to operate.) Bizarrely, nothing outside of the electrons themselves were affected, so despite the tremendous 300 Tesla force, it was still safe for the scientists to observe the graphene without excessive precaution.
Crommie was particularly excited about the control that the scientists could potentially demonstrate over electrons around the graphene nanobubbles. The ability to control the existence of such powerful magnetic-like forces could potentially lead to the development of smaller, more powerful transistor switches in semi-conductors.
The study is ongoing and Crommie said the team at LBNL is working on reproducing the effect using different substrates (for this experiment, the graphene was grown on platinum, and now the team wants to produce the same effect after growing graphene on other, less conductive materials). As far as their advance towards controlling the graphene electrons for use in electronic devices, Crommie says progress is being made: “You have to create these very complex strain patterns and now we have new ideas about how to achieve this.“
(CNN) -- The 2010 Nobel prize for physics was awarded Tuesday to two professors from the University of Manchester in England for "groundbreaking" experiments with the two-dimensional material graphene.
The professors are Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, both originally from Russia.
"I didn't expect the Nobel prize this year because I thought this year would be the year of astrophysics," Geim told reporters by phone after the win.
Graphene is one of a class of two-dimensional materials discovered by Geim's research group at the university, according to Graphene Industries, which says it has worked closely with Geim. It consists of a hexagonal array of carbon atoms, just like those found in bulk graphite, but is "fundamentally different" from the familiar three-dimensional material, in part because it is flexible.
"The discovery of two-dimensional materials means that scientists now have access to materials of all dimensionalities, including zero-dimensional (quantum dots, atoms) and one-dimensional (nanowires, carbon nanotubes)," according to Graphene Industries.
Geim said it is impossible to describe the range of possible uses for the material.
"Imagine 100 years ago and someone found amazing properties of polymers, and at that moment, you don't know what to do with polymers -- you can only imagine the range of applications," Geim said.
"I hope that graphene and other two-dimensional crystals will change everyday life as plastics did for humanity".
Tuesday is the second day of Nobel Prize announcements across a range of areas.
In the coming days, the committee will announce prizes in chemistry, literature and peace. The prize in economics will be announced Monday.
Last year, three scientists won the physics prize for two breakthroughs that led to two major underpinnings of the digital age -- fiber optics and digital photography.
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