Produce new devices that cost less to make and need less energy. Matter at the nanoscale displays new properties. For example, carbon can be broken down into a sheet that is one atom thick, known as graphene. This material is very strong, ultra-thin and can conduct large electric currents. Clear plastic coated in graphene can conduct electricity and still remain transparent. This could be used for touchscreen devices.
F Your
fingernails grow a nanometre every second. How long would it take your fingernails to grow 1 cm?
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People and Science z Fig. 24.3.4
Transparent phones may be possible in the future thanks to graphene
Creating graphene
Using your own pencils and sticky tape, how thin a piece of graphite can you collect? Maybe you can get to the Nobel level of graphene!
Nano – good or bad?
While nanotechnology clearly has benefits, there are concerns about its impact on living things. This is partly because the nanoparticles involved are so small they could pass into cells and cause damage to health.
Research and create an evidence-based presentation on the pros and cons of nanotechnology. Present your findings to your classmates.
In 2010, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, scientists at the University of Manchester, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for isolating graphene from the same material as found in the lead of a pencil. They used normal sticky tape to pull the thin layers from a piece of graphite. They repeated this method on the thin sheets of graphite until they had a single sheet of graphene.
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Fig. 24.3.5
Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim in their laboratory
