How graphene can change our lives forever but doesn't?

   For most of the people out there, graphene is simply a layer of the well known substance graphite, yeah the one found in your daily use pencils! I have got to be kidding you right? How can this simple substance change our lives? Well, you'll know.

  Before we start, I would like to tell you some interesting properties of graphene. First off, graphene is only one carbon atom thin. Being this thin, it is highly flexible. Infamously, graphene is the strongest known natural material. Yet due to its very thinness, it is highly flexible. If you are not amazed yet, get ready to be!

Fun Fact: Graphene is stronger than diamonds. In fact it is the strongest known natural material!

  Well, today our electronic devices rely on silicon as a key component. But nowadays, transistors made of silicon are approaching the minimum size at which they can be effective, which means the speed of our devices will soon bottom out. Yet the ultra-thin nature of graphene could be the answer to this problem. It may not be long before graphene replaces silicon in our electronic devices, making them faster than ever before. This will for sure impact the way we use these electronics, either positively or negatively...

  Well, one of the most useful use of graphene will help us drink salt water. Yes! Saline water from oceans and seas can be use for drinking purposes. How? Well, membranes made from graphene are big enough to let water through, but small enough to filter out the salt. This makes potable water! In short graphene could revolutionize desalination of water!

  If you feel overly integrated with your technology already, you aren't seeing nothing yet. Graphene research is now leading to experiments where electronics can integrate with your biological systems. Basically, it may soon be possible to implant graphene gadgets that can read your nervous system or talk to your cells. This could lead to breakthroughs in medical science, helping doctors monitor your body or even adjust your biological systems for optimal health. So the technology of bionic humans is not so far...

  As I said earlier, usefulness of graphene is at the peak when it comes to electronics and stuff. Due to its flexibility, there could be smart and extremely thin graphene displays used in mobiles, televisions, and even it could replace light bulbs with the technology of glowing wallpapers. And all thanks to the development of new graphene-based electrode technology.

  Well the above stated uses are very little amongst the many other uses like creating better and safer dyes, creating rust proof utensils (even for strong corrosion) with graphene-based paints, mosquito repellants, etc.

  I will write more of that later in one of my future posts. But for, does this thought come to your mind- If graphene is that useful and can manage to change our lives forever, why don't we use it?

Fun fact: To put into perspective how thin graphene is, a typical carbon atom has a diameter of about 0.33 nanometers, so there are about 3 million layers of graphene in a 1 mm thick sheet of graphite. 

  You see, graphene is very strong and light, almost transparent, and conducts electricity and heat extremely well. It is also the first natural two-dimensional substance discovered, which gives it many interesting properties which had never been observed before.

  There has been a lot of talk about commercial applications for it since its discovery, as I mentioned some of them earlier, but so far the real applications in industrial or commercial products have been very limited in reality. What is holding graphene back? Now we come to today's real point of discussion!

  Easiest answer is that it is not easy to produce graphene in large qualities at a decent quality. It's not always just a bunch of graphite and a sticky tape! This amazing material is not too much, but a bit hard to obtain. Besides, there are no mass produced methods available to obtain graphene, thus making its production a lot more expensive.

  Too much of anything is always bad, this is what graphene suffers from, as previously mentioned, graphene is highly conductive- it can conduct electrons at nearly the speed of light, which is 100 times faster than any other known materials. However, for many applications in electronics, it is actually too conductive. Something called as bandgap needs to be introduced into graphene to make it usable in electronics. But methods to do so are generally very expensive. And a lot expensive.

  Well although mankind knows a lot about this wonder material, research is still required to use it in mainstream and daily uses. 

  Major electronics companies are continuing their research to integrate graphene into their future products. All in all, graphene's future still looks very bright. And yeah, it does have the potential to change our lives forever!

Posts before October 2021 have been marked as "Old Posts". Less likely, but they might have out dated or incorrect information, ugly looking bits of code, no labels, etc. Don't get me wrong, many of these posts are top-notch and interesting too.

I thought it would be better not to delete or revamp these posts, even if they suck. The bitter truth is that old works always suck, but I take that as a positive tool to convey that I am growing. Besides there's no better way to showcase my journey without these old, messy, poorly written posts!

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