[BITList] Incredible new material _ tws
FA
franka at iinet.net.au
Mon Nov 25 02:25:02 GMT 2013
Will be interesting to see how it develops
frank
Technology helps the world advance. As humans it's
in our nature to investigate, innovate and solve
problems.
This curiosity means we make things, create things
and develop new technologies.
You can look back thousands of years for basic
examples of technology pushing civilization forward.
Most people don't understand the rapid change
technology has on their life...or the speed at which
change occurs.
For example, the following are the five 'Great Ages'
of human progress and their approximate duration:
* *Stone Age*— 3.4 million years
* *Bronze Age*— 2,500 years
* *Iron Age*— 500 years
* *Industrial Revolution*— 80 years
* *Information Revolution*— 20 years
You'll notice the length of each 'age' diminishes as
technology improves.
The computer industry calls this trend 'Moore's
Law'. It dictates that computer processing power
doubles every 18 months.
200 times stronger than steel...150,000
times thinner than a human hair...more
flexible than a sheet of paper
You may have heard about */Graphene./*
If you haven't, it's a newly discovered, very
special refined form of graphite.
It's a one-atom-thick sheet of densely packed carbon
atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice.
Take a look:
cid:image001.jpg at 01CEABE0.F5BBE980
Put simply, it's a sheet of carbon atoms 150,000
times thinner than a human hair.
Under a powerful microscope, it looks like chicken wire.
But what's so special about it?
*Everything.*
For starters, it's 200 times stronger than
structural steel...
It's so strong you could suspend an elephant from a
single strand of Graphene...*and the strand would
not break.*
It's extremely lightweight too...
Soon, everything from bicycles and boats to
aeroplanes and cars could be made out of graphene
composites.
/And when they are, their energy efficiency and
durability could skyrocket./
But that's just the beginning of what this new
'smart material' can do...
Not only is it the strongest material researchers
have ever tested — it's also one of the best
conductors man has ever found.
IBM has already created a graphene-based processor
capable of executing 100 billion cycles per second.
Researchers believe that in the future, a graphene
credit card could store as much information as
today's computers.
Be clear...
This one material alone could prove more
revolutionary than — and soon REPLACE —
plastic, Kevlar and the silicon chip
cid:F71C606936E045A2B11FBCABC057D844 at usereff68178ca
*Kiss goodbye to shattered screens!*
In fact, it's such a breakthrough that the first two
scientists to successfully produce single-atom-thick
crystals of graphene were awarded the 2010 Nobel
Prize in Physics.
And for good reason...
In just two years, over 200 companies from a wide
array of industries have researched the magical
potential of graphene...
* *Scientists in the US and China*are already
using tiny graphene-based probes to target and
identify tumours in live mice. They hope similar
graphene-based particles could shuttle cancer
drugs to tumours...or even kill tumour cells
directly!
* *Engineers at Northwest University,*Seattle,
found that specially crafted graphene electrodes
could allow a lithium-ion battery — like those
found in your smartphone or Toyota Prius — to
charge 10 times faster and hold 10 times more
power.
* *And in 2011, chemists at Rice
University,*Houston, created graphene-based thin
films — unlocking the secret to incredibly
flexible, super-durable touch screens and solar
cells that can wrap around just about anything...
*The Smallest Revolution
in History...*
Down at the molecular level there's a lot of
friction. Particles can stick together really
easily. This means new and complicated structures
can be formed.
Today scientists are experimenting with different
conditions to see what sorts of new molecular
structures they can create.
The results are astonishing. Some look like thin
wires...
cid:9058ADC7A7A34CD896EF9BDFB35D9F4A at usereff68178ca
Some look like pancakes...
cid:1B0587C565C646519094759DAD657603 at usereff68178ca
Others look like flowers...
cid:CA2751C699F04D7B87ABCEC3AA92A075 at usereff68178ca
All these different molecular structures have
different properties.
And soon they'll change the way we live...
From solar panels you can spray onto your roof...to
/computers and batteries so small they are
invisible./ From mobile phones that you can stretch,
twist and even imbed into your clothing...they'll
make stronger houses...tougher cars...and even make
us healthier!
Medical researchers are already looking at using
nano-particles to deliver drugs or hunt down
cancerous tumours.
*Just imagine 'nano medicines' patrolling your body,
hunting down diseases and zapping problems as soon
as they arise...*
Samsung have already said its flexible displays
should enter full-scale production later this year —
and it expects to have a dozen more graphene-based
products on the market within the next five.
IBM, Nokia and Apple are hot on their heels too.
Touch screens...processor chips...casings...and
batteries in everything from PCs and HD TVs to
tablets, mobile phones and hybrids could be all made
with graphene.
It could change entire industries...economies...and
our lives.
Imagine...
HD TVs as thin as wallpaper...
Smart phones so skinny and flexible you can roll
them up and put them behind your ear.../and so
durable you can beat them with a hammer!/
It's mind-blowing.
Imagine how our world — /and your life/ — would
change if the batteries that run your iPhone...your
Kindle...and your laptop held 10 TIMES more power
and charged 10 TIMES faster than they do now...
If you could eliminate breast cancer or prostate
tumours with a simple injection...or by swallowing a
graphene-charged pill...
If your house were strong enough to withstand a bush
fire — and your windows processed enough solar
energy to heat your home in winter and cool it in
the summer...
If the car you drove were six times lighter and 20
times stronger...
The effects would be staggering!
Fuel-efficiency would shoot through the roof.
People would live longer, healthier lives.
Cars and aeroplanes would be lighter, faster and
safer than ever before.
And electronics of every type would be launched into
an era of unprecedented growth and evolution.
This is just a taste of the cutting-edge innovations
coming in the Molecular Age...
...innovations that will reshape the future in the
months and years ahead...and it's starting now.
You're looking at a simultaneous eruption of
new-age technologies that will alter our lives on a
scale not seen for 100 years
All this technological change and innovation will
transform the world...
* 'Nano batteries' will *charge your mobile in
seconds*...and even *power whole cities...*
* 'Smartphones' will *carry the computing power of
IBM's Watson Supercomputer...*
* A new era of computing mobility — none of the
solid rectangular things we carry now but
*flexible, wearable devices...*
* Handheld 'breathalysers' will *diagnose disease*
in seconds...
* Bionic limbs with human fluidity and dexterity,
but the *strength of Superman!*
* Spacecraft with the capacity to *take us beyond
our solar system* into places and worlds never
explored...
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