The Miracle Material

Some key materials have played central roles in the development of human civilization. The discovery of copper and spread of metallurgy heralded the “Bronze Age”. Then came the “Iron Age”, corresponding later to the “Steel Age”. The industrial revolution brought us the “Oil Age”. The later part of 20^th century saw the contribution of “Silicon Age”, brought about by discovery of microprocessor and changing the face of electronics.

Now, the first decade of 21^st century can be characterized by this “Miracle Material”. It is one material that would arguably change the face of technology forever. It is called “Graphene”, which is an allotrope (the atoms of an element bonding together in a different manner) of carbon (just like graphite is an allotrope of carbon, as well as diamond being an allotrope of carbon).

Discovery of Miracle Material

Graphene was first separated from flakes of graphite. It is made of single sheet of carbon one atom thick.  So, this is ONE ATOM THICK, making it the thinnest material ever discovered.  It turned out to be the strongest, most elastic and most conductive material on earth. It was such a major breakthrough that, the two researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010, just six years after its discovery. It turns out that, this material is 50,000X thinner than a human hair, 230X more powerful than silicon and 200X stronger than steel! And also, it is the most elastic substance on the planet. You can bend, twist or fold it into any shape you like.

No Intrinsic Limits

In February 2010, IBM announced that it had created the world’s tiniest transistor, made not from silicon, but from graphene. This “tiny” it really is- not larger than a grain of salt! Even more important, it is also the world’s fastest transistor, handling frequencies upto 155GHz. To put it into perspective, silicon can operate at a speed of “only” 40GHz! That is, just one tiny clump of graphene transmits electrical information 2.3 times faster than silicon wafer! So, no wonder IBM researcher, Dr. Yu-ming Lin says, “In terms of the speed of the transistor, we currently see no intrinsic limits into how fast it can go”.

Every area of modern technology is catapulted by the miracle properties of Graphene.

·        Electronics

·        Medical science

·        Oil exploration

·        Warfare

 Fun Electronics

Imagine you can roll up your iPhone and put it behind your ear….or watching movies on a television no thicker than wallpaper. Already Nokia and Samsung unveiled their own ultra-thin, flexible electronics (the Kinetic and Galaxy Skin) in 2011. This material conducts electronic information 230% faster than silicon, making it possible to download 3-D movies and charge your smartphone in just seconds. And forget about broadband- get yourself ready for extremeband, as huge chunks of data that once took you minutes (or hours) to download now arrive in just seconds.  And you can forget about waiting hours (or even minutes!) for your Blackberry to fully charge. With much higher frequencies, you will never have to worry about losing a call every time you enter an elevator or parking garage. That’s why BBC comments, “…(it) could spell the end for silicon and change the future computers and other devices forever”.

An artificial implant for the Brain

The new types of prosthetic devices made with graphene promise to be much superior in treating neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, blindness, epilepsy, paralysis and others. These materials also beckon new medical performances like:

Ø  Killing Cancer cells, not healthy ones- New drug carrier made with Graphene oxide which greatly reduces side effects of cancer treatments by killing only the affected cells.

Ø  Synthetic blood- a new blood substitute made of graphene as an ingredient has proven to be effective in restoring hemoglobin that carries oxygen, to maintain blood flow and prevent clots from forming. It proves to be effective against trauma of losing blood.

Ø  Super Strong Tissue- By spinning densely-packed graphene nanoribbons into a tight yarn, researchers at UT Dallas created artificial muscle fibers that exert 100X the force of natural muscles and can rotate objects 2000X their own weight. Aside from staggering potential this technology holds for machines and artificial limbs, doctors also believe it could make possible nonorobots strong enough to propel throughout the bloodstream- delivering drugs, removing parasites and much more.

Ø  New Body Tissue- Researchers at the Air Force Laboratory in Ohio are using graphene to grow new human tissue after watching how cells proliferate when attached to surfaces coated with graphene oxide (one of the major element of our body cells is carbon and graphene is an allotrope of carbon). One researcher says “A material that allows faster and more efficient growth of cells would indeed find many applications in the fields of biomedicine and biotechnology such as tissue engineering or to grow structures that could help heal wounds.” And another researcher at Graphene Labs says he is now “exploring the possibility of using graphene as a membrane in the next generation of artificial kidneys”.

At this point, one might ask, if there’s  any stunning breakthrough graphene wouldn’t be responsible for bringing us!

New Era for Oil Exploration

Graphene could be a key component in uncovering large pockets of oil and gas hidden deep into the earth. One popular method of exploration uses small wireless sensors to wander deep into tiny cracks and crevices, from where they send data on any discoveries back to the surface. It’s a safe and cost-efficient technology. But, the problem is, sensors powered by conventional batteries can be made only so small. And that means the tiniest cracks and crevices are still off-limits for exploration.

Scientists in Rensselaer Polytechnic discovered that they could generate small amounts of electricity just by letting water and other fluids flow over materials coated with graphene. In fact, their tests demonstrated that one sheet of graphene just .03 mm by .015 mm can generate 85 nanowatts of power.  Which means that by using graphene as a “smart skin”, tiny, self-powered microsensors could soon find oil and gas in previously undiscovered locations. The oil and natural gas shale boom currently underway could go several times over, because of previously undetected reserves now able to be found with graphene technology.

Battlefield of the Future

Graphene presages to be the material used for making the impossible.  Scientists in UT Dallas have discovered that with sufficient electrical stimulation, a sheet of graphene heats up so much that the difference in temperature between it and the surrounding area causes light rays to bend, cloaking the object that is right behind the graphene. Imagine what this could mean for tomorrow’s battlefield…as invisible tanks and fighter jets quickly overwhelm their bewildered enemies. A company called Nanoflight has taken this discovery to the next level by creating a graphene aerogel for the Israeli army to “paint” on their missiles. In tests, they discovered this aerogel absorbs radio waves emitted from radar systems and scatters them as heat…making the missile invisible!

Industrial Demand

With such huge industrial applications of graphene, there is no doubt the future belongs to it. In fact, price of carbon-rich sources of graphite have gone up 300% during last five years, with price being in $2500-$3000 per ton now. That’s why, BCC research believes that commercial sales of graphite are set to explode from $67 million in 2015 to $675 million by 2020. And according to Futures Inc., demand for grahpene-based ink, photodiodes, high-frequency transistors and conductive coatings has already increased by 4,000% since 2010.

So, how can you position yourself to profit from this meteoric trend about to explode?

Actually, the answer is in graphite- because graphene is made from graphite. As mentioned above, the price of graphite is exploding during last few years, with the trend to continue in coming years.

So far, graphite has been mined in only five countries, with China currently controlling 70-80% of world’s graphite production.  That puts graphite in a rare earth materials-type position, in that China has a near stranglehold on the market, as graphite’s dominant future creeps upwards.

That’s what set off the rare earth boom in 2009 and 2010, sending any company with access to rare earths outside of China soaring thousands of percent. And its exactly what is happening with graphite right now. China’s production facilities and mines are old and may be nearing depletion. And they are trying to get top dollars for what they have left. And small supply that comes outside of China is typically used in full by the country where it is mined for traditional steel and automotive applications. The situation has become so alarming that, Britain, EU and U.S. have declared graphite a critical supply material.

As seen from the graph below, all of these have an impact on the carbon-rich sources of graphite:

So, this trend gives other companies outside of China bomb-shell opportunities to profit from soaring demand of graphite. In fact, some Canadian mining companies which are in development stage, are set to gear up huge growth potential with their mining resources. Their stock prices are to go up multiple times.

Futures Ahead

As quoted by analyst Larrain Vial, “the attributes of graphene- transparency, density, electric and thermal conductivity, elasticity, flexibility, hardness, resistance and capacity to generate chemical reactions with other substances- harbour the potential to unleash a new technological revolutions of more significant proportions than that ushered in by electricity in the 19^th century and the rise of the internet in the 1990s.”

What graphene-based technology has shown so far is just tip of the iceberg. We have only scratched the surface of how graphene will impact the electronics, medical science and energy industries. New elements of technological inventions will SURELY impact the world in times ahead.