Nobel Prize 2010 In Physics: Andre Geim, Konstantin Novoselov

by NowPublic Staff | October 5, 2010 at 07:56 am

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University Of Manchester Physicists, Andre Geim And Konstantin Novoselov Win Physics Nobel Prize 2010 For Work With Graphene

The Nobel Prize 2010 for Physics has been awarded to two University of Manchester Physicists for their ground breaking work involving a carbon based material called graphene the Nobel Prize Committee announced Tuesday.

As a material it is completely new – not only the thinnest ever but also the strongest. As a conductor of electricity it performs as well as copper. As a conductor of heat it outperforms all other known materials. It is almost completely transparent, yet so dense that not even helium, the smallest gas atom, can pass through it. Carbon, the basis of all known life on earth, has surprised us once again.

Geim and Novoselov extracted the graphene from a piece of graphite such as is found in ordinary pencils. Using regular adhesive tape they managed to obtain a flake of carbon with a thickness of just one atom. This at a time when many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable.

Graphene is transparent and a good conductor an some of its practical applications could include touch screens, solar cells, also new materials for making satellites, airplanes, and even cars.