A team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has just announced a new breakthrough in the field of graphene research, leading to the next generation of high-efficiency solar cells, computers and other advanced technologies. Graphene, a new material that was discovered less than 10 years ago, is an ultra-thin, superstrong, superflexible electron conductor. As for how to explain the Berkeley Lab research in lay terms, let’s just say that if graphene had a personality it would have its own reality show, and it would give Total Divas a run for the money.

No, seriously. Researchers have already demonstrated that graphene possesses an outsized talent for showing off its unique properties, which is surely one prerequisite for diva-ness. The other is a highly developed sensitivity to minor irritations, and that is the focus of the new Berkeley Lab research.
A Graphene Mystery

To understand the significance of the Berkeley Lab breakthrough, let’s start at the beginning. Graphene consists of a sheet of carbon only one atom thick, with a distinctive lattice structure similar to chicken wire.

On the plus side, graphene is an extremely efficient conductor, far more efficient than silicon. However, this is where graphene’s diva side kicks in. To translate graphene into on/off […]