Carbon comes in many crystalline forms, called allotropes, the most well-known being diamond and graphite. Allotropes are different forms of the same element with different bonding arrangements between atoms.
Graphene has sparked the interest of engineers who are trying to make new, lightweight, and flexible solar panels that could be used to cover the outside surface of a building, in addition to the roof which is already being used.
Graphene is nearly transparent to light, including ultraviolet and infrared light. Graphite sheet absorbs only two percents of the light falling on it, whether it is ultraviolet, infrared, or all of the wavelengths in between. Combine this with graphene’s ability to conduct electricity, and you have very efficient, electrical conductors that are transparent, thin, flexible, and cheap.
Lightweight and flexible solar panels could be molded to fit an automobile body or be wrapped around furniture or clothing. When added to any surface, they could collect light and produce electricity.
In the past, most electronic devices were controlled by pushing buttons, typing on a keyboard, or using a mouse. Today, most cells phones and tablet PCs have touch screens that allow the user to make selections by touching icons or letters directly on the display screen.
The basic idea of how most of these devices work is simple. A layer of flake graphite that stores electrical charge is placed on the glass panel of the screen. When a user touches the screen with his or her finger, or with a stylus pen, some of the charge is transferred to the user, so the charge on the layer decreases. The decrease is measured by sensors located at each corner of the screen, and this information is relayed to a processor inside the device, which determines what kind of action to take.
Touch screens made with graphite powder as their conductive element could be printed on thin plastic instead of glass, so they would be light and flexible, which could make cell phones as thin as a piece of paper and foldable enough to slip into a pocket. And, because of graphene’s incredible strength, these cell phones would be nearly unbreakable.