- Joined
- Jan 21, 2000
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Hadnt been around for a bit, but ran across something today that put me in mind of you guys and gals.
According to a Wall Street Journal article on Oct. 5, 2010, two scientists at the University of Manchester in Britain received the Nobel Prize in physics last year for their work on a material they call graphene, the fundamental structure of which is a stable sheet of crystalline graphite only one atom thick.
The article states that graphene is believed to be the thinnest and strongest material in the world, more than one hundred times as strong as the strongest steel. It is "virtually transparent, extremely dense, and impermeable to gases and liquids," according to the article.
"It's stiffer than a diamond. At the same time, you can stretch it like rubber," said one of the scientists who discovered it.
I copied the article when first published and ran across it again today. The focus of the original piece was in electronics, as the material is potentially much more efficient than silicon for use in making tinier computer chips.
But suddenly I was struck with the possibility that by using layers of this material to form a blade, a stable edge potentially much thinner than the current 1-micron standard might be achieved, which seems in turn to suggest a much more efficient cutting edge than anything currently imaginable. With the toughness of rubber and the strength of a diamond, does this strike anyone else as a promising material for blades?
In describing the science behind graphene, the Nobel committee noted that a one-square-meter graphene hammock would be nearly invisible and also able to bear the weight of a four-kilogram (8.8 pound) cat. The hammock itself would weigh less than a single cat whisker.
According to a Wall Street Journal article on Oct. 5, 2010, two scientists at the University of Manchester in Britain received the Nobel Prize in physics last year for their work on a material they call graphene, the fundamental structure of which is a stable sheet of crystalline graphite only one atom thick.
The article states that graphene is believed to be the thinnest and strongest material in the world, more than one hundred times as strong as the strongest steel. It is "virtually transparent, extremely dense, and impermeable to gases and liquids," according to the article.
"It's stiffer than a diamond. At the same time, you can stretch it like rubber," said one of the scientists who discovered it.
I copied the article when first published and ran across it again today. The focus of the original piece was in electronics, as the material is potentially much more efficient than silicon for use in making tinier computer chips.
But suddenly I was struck with the possibility that by using layers of this material to form a blade, a stable edge potentially much thinner than the current 1-micron standard might be achieved, which seems in turn to suggest a much more efficient cutting edge than anything currently imaginable. With the toughness of rubber and the strength of a diamond, does this strike anyone else as a promising material for blades?
In describing the science behind graphene, the Nobel committee noted that a one-square-meter graphene hammock would be nearly invisible and also able to bear the weight of a four-kilogram (8.8 pound) cat. The hammock itself would weigh less than a single cat whisker.
