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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Making graphene with a consumer grade DVD drive is jaw-dropping once you understand what graphene is

Please watch this three minute video. It is about a substance called graphene that won its discoverers in 2010 the Nobel Prize. But in short, imagine a substance that is biodegradable, acts as the best battery in world history, is flexible, and cheap to manufacture. And when I mean it's a great battery, imagine being able to charge your phone in five seconds and it lasts all day, or charging your electric car in a few minutes, and it being able to go farther and weigh much less that it does now, and if the battery ever dies, you can just mulch it with your vegetables.

You can read about future applications for graphene in the March 2012 issue of Science. But I just want to add for the geeks and nerds out there that with graphene, we could build real life working lightsabers. Seriously.

So yeah, making graphene with a consumer grade DVD drive is jaw-dropping once you understand what graphene is. Are you impressed? We live in such amazing times. I can't wait to see the inventions that will arise from this wondrous material in the next few years. I predict that our world is literally about to change. How could it not when you have a power source that is so incredibly "powerful" and so incredibly small.

In the theme of the video, may you have a very serendipitous Wednesday. :)
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26 comments:

  1. mooderinoFebruary 27, 2013 at 1:45 AM

    That's very impressive. I hope they can turn this into viable products before the oil companies have them killed.

    mood

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  2. laughingwolfFebruary 27, 2013 at 2:25 AM

    thx mike... can you do bucky balls and 3d printers, next? ;)

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  3. Elise FallsonFebruary 27, 2013 at 2:26 AM

    What Mood said.

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  4. Tara TylerFebruary 27, 2013 at 4:54 AM

    in awe! so exciting! they need to get on it!!
    so glad i stopped by! my nerd sensors were going crazy!

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  5. Alex J. CavanaughFebruary 27, 2013 at 5:23 AM

    Yes, agree with Moody. Although so far the oil companies have not snatched the new Volkeswagen that gets over two hundred miles to the gallon that's set to roll out in Europe this year.

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  6. CindyFebruary 27, 2013 at 5:33 AM

    Interesting. This would be like a dream come true.

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  7. Matthew MacNishFebruary 27, 2013 at 5:41 AM

    Holy shit. How have big oil and gas not shut this down yet?

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  8. PT DillowayFebruary 27, 2013 at 6:47 AM

    Woo hoo, lightsabers! I'm sure someone will find a way to weaponize it on an even bigger scale so it can destroy all humanity.

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  9. CBame13February 27, 2013 at 7:40 AM

    OH MY GOD LIGHTSABERS. Nerdgasm over, graphene is a huge step forward and I'm really interested in seeing where it takes us moving forward. I imagine the phone from Zoolander becoming a very real and very marketable device.

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  10. Elizabeth SeckmanFebruary 27, 2013 at 8:10 AM

    Cool stuff! And I want the new VW Alex spoke of.

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  11. Andrew LeonFebruary 27, 2013 at 8:29 AM

    I've been trying not to hold my breath over this. You know what they say about things that are too good to be true...

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  12. Michael Di GesuFebruary 27, 2013 at 8:35 AM

    AMAZING....

    But I am with Mood and Matt on this one. How's going to get to them first? Either death or a buy out.

    Like there's now cure for cancer .... right?

    It's all about the power companies keeping their money and power.

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  13. Liz A.February 27, 2013 at 8:41 AM

    I'm at work, so I'll have to wait to catch the video when I get home. Sounds cool.

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  14. Tyrean MartinsonFebruary 27, 2013 at 9:13 AM

    Wow! and I have to say that your title totally grabbed me - I had no idea about grapheme. . .

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  15. Tyrean MartinsonFebruary 27, 2013 at 9:20 AM

    I know I already commented but I waited to watch the video until my science-minded daughter could watch it with me.

    Very cool! I don't think it will get rid of our need for oil or gas because we need to charge the supercapacitator with something - but it could definitely reduce our need for oil and gas.
    As my daughter says, "The recycling part is the best attribute of it, because they haven't discovered many battery materials that recycle well."

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  16. Johanna GarthFebruary 27, 2013 at 9:54 AM

    I wonder why it's not being more widely distributed. Biodegradable, amazing source of energy...sounds like a green gold mine!

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  17. Yolanda RenéeFebruary 27, 2013 at 10:24 AM

    Very cool, watched it with my 'sciency' son! :)

    Thanks for sharing -- gives me hope for the future!

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  18. Mina BurrowsFebruary 27, 2013 at 10:28 AM

    This gave me chills. I love science. I can't wait to show my kids and husband this. Thx:)

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  19. nutschellFebruary 27, 2013 at 11:05 AM

    Wow. I hope they find a way to develop more uses for the masses to use.:)
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  20. Vanessa MorganFebruary 27, 2013 at 1:52 PM

    Fascinating!

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  21. mshatchFebruary 27, 2013 at 3:52 PM

    I am constantly amazed by some of the new technology coming out.

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  22. HelenaFebruary 27, 2013 at 5:11 PM

    If this can be applied to the real world within the next few years, we really are looking at a huge historical change. Maybe this will help reverse climate change! No more CO2 emissions!

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  23. Catherine StineFebruary 27, 2013 at 6:09 PM

    So totally cool!

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  24. Susan Gourley/KelleyFebruary 27, 2013 at 6:46 PM

    This is amazing. I just heard something about it this morning on a news show.

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  25. Rusty CarlFebruary 27, 2013 at 7:13 PM

    It really is a big deal - I'd wager that this will change the way we live our lives.

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  26. UnknownFebruary 27, 2013 at 9:41 PM

    Oh my God!! This is too cool! Thank you for sharing this and now I'm off to do more reading.

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