Graphene

Graphene is something i should know a fair bit about, as it is my project at the moment.

Graphene is derived from graphite (the stuff you fin in pencils) which is a carbon lattice made of many layers bonded together. Graphene is but one of these many layers, meaning graphene is actually a sheet of carbon that is 1 atom thick !! 

It was discovered back in 2004 when some guy from Manchester used cello tape on graphite. To me it seems surprising it was not discovered abit before 2004 :P

Anyway, what is the use of it:

Well graphene has unique electrical properties, aswell as mechanical properties. My main research field is utilising the fact that electrons in graphene undergo 'ballistic transport' - and the fact that electrons behave as massless particles. In abit more simple terms - the as electrons travel through ordinary stuff, they bounce off and scatter and interact with the thing it's traveling through..... get it ?

BUT !

In graphene the electrons do not interact with the graphene sheet, they just travel through it without scattering, bouncing or anything. This means that electrons traveling through graphene sheets can be technically used to carry quantum information. You see the problem with quantum information is as soon as you look at something quantum or measure it (or put something in the way) you lose the information - bummer.  Since electrons don;'t interact with graphene you don't lose the information. In afew years when research takes off abit more it means that graphene will be the candidate for making quantum computers and replacing standard Silicon chips.

Pretty cool stuff

Spen