German researchers have come up with a cheap way to spray gas sensors, based on a relatively new material, onto thin film. If health fears are cleared, this could result in smart food packaging — perhaps with sprayed-on radio antennas, too.
Graphene can’t turn a flow of electrons “on” or “off” like silicon. Scientists have tried tactics like introducing impurities or stacking it with other materials to overcome this without luck.
New calculations document some of the one-atom-thick carbon form’s unusual properties. But while scientists have synthesized single strands of carbyne, they haven’t figured out how to make it into a sheet of material.
An international research team has found that graphene can cool down hot spots in electronic equipment, such as processors, enough to make a major difference to energy efficiency and equipment lifespan.
It may be the most amazing substance known to humanity – potentially – but pioneers in the graphene scene are still scratching their heads as to the material’s killer app.
Graphene is a strong candidate for silicon’s successor, but making it reliably is still problematic. To solve that, the University of Cambridge is opening a new center with backing from Nokia and others.
We see a lot of early-stage research coming out of labs of universities around the world. And because we don’t always have time to cover these innovations in stand-alone articles, I’m resurrecting an old column: In the labs!