Concrete may have found it's killer app in graphene. ~~~ fouc This is a ridiculous article. > The potential applications of graphene are nearly endless I would like to see this, but every single one of these claims comes from patent applications. ------ mrb _" You can take graphene and spread it out until you're transparent, but it's still graphene."_ It is not true, you can separate a single layer of graphene from graphite with a piece of scotch tape: ------ cagenut I'm not an expert by any means, but the article leaves the impression that they've made graphene that is just as good as graphite, with all the same properties like graphite, but that can be easily separated, making it far easier to process. It sounds interesting and I'm going to track down the original study it's citing when I get a chance. ~~~ sp332 That's called "graphene nanoplatelets" and is essentially single-layer graphene that you can dope/paint, etch, or stamp out. I don't know if it can be painted/stamped out in bulk, but I'm sure you can scale to larger sizes than single sheets. ~~~ mrb In addition to what sp332 said, graphene can be delaminated into single grahene with tape (see this tweet: ). I am not sure if it can be done in large quantities though. ------ flipp We need to make a big bet on this, or other people will. It's incredibly valuable to be an early mover on a technology that is on the verge of changing the world. ~~~ DaniFong It could be a huge breakthrough. There's real momentum behind graphene that we haven't seen in other science -- it's the breakthrough that might not be. There's definitely room for the most ambitious people in technology, and there's no shortage of them. ~~~ flipp Are you familiar with the history of computer chips? ------ j45 When I was much younger and much stupider, I wanted a desk job but was unwilling to sit in front of a monitor for 12 hours a day. So I looked into jobs that would involve using an X-Ray to solder or connect things. Now, maybe something in my 20's, if X-Ray technology allowed it, might be able to take off again and we might have something new. ------ hughes One of the key challenges for graphene is being able to control the process that forms it. That is, graphene will never be mass produced at the scale of the modern world if every tiny bit of graphene has to be made at every step of production. Sigh. This is what it means to be at a foundational moment in technology. If this can be solved, then I'm fairly sure we'll see the fruits of it soon. ~~~ sp332 This article from 2011, on a similar subject, shows how it could be a big breakthrough: ------ marknutter Could graphene make for the future of flexible electronics? Is it possible? ~~~ gambiting Depends what you want to do. I don't think it will do well for flexible electronics as it has extremely poor conductivity - just look at this video: ------ einarvollset What is the significance of single-layer graphene? Would it be possible to create a "multi-layer" graphene? ------ J3L2404 Heh. You have to tell your customers before you launch the product because it may be a little expensive to recycle. ------ geuis The significance of graphene here is not the chemistry. It is, as the article mentions, the manufacturing. ------ andyl Hurray, graphene is for real. I can't wait for super-fast Internet (tm). ------ seaguy94 In what way is this different than other carbon compounds, like diamonds, graphite, etc.? ~~~ cbr Diamond is really complicated and expensive to manufacture. Graphene has the advantage of being simple and cheap to manufacture. In addition, graphene has the potential for new materials properties we have never had before, including extraordinary conductivity. ------ mrslx Wow. Great Article! ------ robert00700 Woah, I really need to wake up and do what I have to do to make graphene! ~~~ sp332 Buy tons of silicon! And buy a vacuum chamber to make your own graphene by heating silicon in the vacuum. It will get easier later because you can make graphene from the gas after the silicon gets very hot. ~~~ mrb Graphene can be delaminated into single graphene sheets with Scotch tape: [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/01/13/go...](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/01/13/going- graphene-thin-film-superconductor/) ~~~ sp332 He's making flakes, not a flat sheet. ------ brunnsbe Great discovery, right? Well, wrong... I'm really sorry to say but I'm not sure how you see this as a breakthrough in science. ~~~ mrb I believe you are misinterpreting the significance of single layer graphene with a grain of salt. If it can be separated out and grown in large enough sheets to be used for making functional material/devices/wafers, then it is a breakthrough. ~~~ brunnsbe I said graphene is no scientific breakthrough. It's just a layer of graphite. This means the significance of this is just that now you can take some paper and separate it from a battery. Or something similar. I know what you mean. But it's like saying you have isolated the source code of Internet Explorer 9. Well yes that's cool, but what does it mean for everyday life? The significance of this is that people are running around claiming new