Wonders never cease. Scientists have made graphene using graphite powder, a kitchen blender, some dishsoap, and water.

See link.
-- RayfordSteele, Apr 22 2014

Probably crunchier than a potato chip... http://www.bbc.com/...nvironment-27113732
Science in the kitchen again? [RayfordSteele, Apr 22 2014]

Potentially Earthshattering http://gizmodo.com/...e-uses-for-graphene
Just... effing... wow. [RayfordSteele, Apr 22 2014]

Can we spin nanotubes on a loom now while we're at it?
-- RayfordSteele, Apr 22 2014


The first thought I had when I read about it was "how long before this hits the 'bakery?"
-- Alterother, Apr 22 2014


//The first thought I had when I read about it was

...how they are going to explain to significant other all that black gunk in the blender.
-- not_morrison_rm, Apr 22 2014


Dishwashing soap is not tasty. Less sure about graphene. Can't one use butter?
-- bungston, Apr 23 2014


//Potentially Earthshattering

Can we have a moratorium on earth-shattering until we have another planet to be standing on?
-- not_morrison_rm, Apr 23 2014


While we're all here, there's something I don't understand.

Graphene is just a single layer of graphite. So why is graphene supposed to be stronger than graphite?

Yes, I know, in graphite the sheets of graphene can slip over eachother and slide apart; but the graphene sheets in graphite are no smaller than the single graphene sheets that are prepared. So, graphite should be as strong as graphene, as long as the test sample is smaller than a typical sheet of graphene.

(Analogy: if a graphene sheet is like a playing card, then graphite is similar to a pile of playing cards dumped on the floor - all lying flat, but randomly overlapping. The pile itself has no in- plane strength because the cards slide over eachother; but if I measured the in-plane strength of the pile over distances less than the size of a playing card, it would have to be at least as strong as a single playing card.)

Or does separating the layers from graphite into graphene change the bonding of the carbon atoms in the plane?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 23 2014



random, halfbakery