Wonderful nanotechnology-Graphene (2)

CONTROL POLLUTION

Chinese professor at Zhejiang university Gao Chao has created the world’s lightest material 0.16 milligram per cc - carbon graphene aerogel. It is good for tackling pollution. It mops up oil. Good for oil spill control. Can absorb 900 times its own weight.

COMPUTERS

It is hoped that graphene will replace silicon chips. IBM and other computer companies are testing with graphene CPU( Central Processor Unit) which can execute 100GHz( 100 billion cycles per second) which is about 50% faster than previous transistors.

SATELLITES, PLANES AND CARS

Graphene has properties that provide light but superstrong composite materials for next generation satellites, planes and cars. It is obvious that reducing the weight of these vehicles has the great advantage of reducing the use of fossil fuels.

RUSTFREE CARS

Graphene repels water and is highly conductive. This combination keeps steel from coming into contact with water and delays the electrochemical reactions that oxidizes iron.

BUILDING MATERIALS

Because of its flexible nature, it is ideal for building material where graphene is incorporated into a polymer or a metal, where graphene is carrying the load.

MILITARY EQUIPMENT

Blend graphene with a polymer produces a super strong fiber that could be used for bulletproof vests

NUCLEAR CLEANUP

Graphene can absorb radioactive waste. Bits of graphene oxide bind to radioactive contaminants transform them into large extractable clumps, This could help with clean up.

There are many more uses for graphene. The potential uses for graphene appear limitless. Two hundred years ago, Manchester witnessed the beginning of the industrial revolution with coal. Today we are witnessing a new revolution. It is definitely the wonder material that will transform the resource landscape of the 21st century.

Gioietta Kuo, from Cambridge, Oxford and Princeton, is a research physicist specializing in energy problems. She has published over 100 articles in World Future Society, wfs.org, amcips.org and other worldwide think tanks. As well as in ‘ People’s Daily’ and ‘World Environment’, Magazine of the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection, and others in China.