"Interesting stuff. I'm still not clear on just how strong is "very
strong" when talking molecular thicknesses."
I believe Young's Modulus is more than 4 times that of Steel or kevlar
and tensile strength is 10 - 30 times as much.
The issue of scaling that to actual strength and workability at the
thickness the article speaks of is another issue, though.
"If a molecule of graphite
is .34 namometers, and 1000nm=1 micron, and our old Y2K is .5 micron,
then graphene is what, around 1,200 times thinner than our film?"
Yup ... those numbers sound about right.
"From Wickepedia <<Graphene is presently one of the most expensive
materials on Earth, with a sample that can be placed at the cross
section of a human hair costing more than $1,000 (as of April 2008).>>"
It's actually pretty easy to make carbon nanotubes up to a couple of
millimeters long right now. Getting beyond that is trickier! This is a
major area of research, so such materials might be on the market sooner
than we might expect.
"But never say never!
Mark F1diddler"
That is so true! Look at the kevlar bracing thread and carbon materials
we are already using!
Marty
--
Marty Alderman
Physics Teacher!
Cornell University PhysTEC TIR (Teacher In Residence)
101 Clark Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
607.255.8158
mda35_at_cornell.edu
At some point in their lives, most people ask themselves:
"Does my life have meaning?"
Most teachers answer it emphatically:
"Absolutely! YES!"
Received on Tue Sep 23 2008 - 07:56:43 CEST