Read this article about graphene - the "lead" from pencils. Comment on this new technology. Could this improve our lives? Are there any possible negative effects?
44 Comments
Ray Vu
4/18/2011 07:52:11 am
Due to the highly conductive character of Graphene, I believe may one day replace conventional silicon microchips, making devices smaller, faster and more energy-efficient. Graphene would improve the effeciency of our techonologies since it has a very little resistance and so, allows electrons travel through with the high speed bring a mass of electricity. There would be some negative effects since the high conductive graphene runs out of control and may cause some unexpected accidents to our techonologies.
Daniella Espinosa
4/18/2011 10:08:29 am
This new discovery could improve our lives by allowing electric flows to move quicker and get to people faster. The only downfall could be that the voltage might become too high...maybe.
Michael Harring
4/18/2011 10:42:41 am
Graphene is a sheet of carbon atoms that is extraordinarily thin and is able to conduct electricity. It could definitely improve our lives due to the fact that it can make the technologies we use today faster, smaller, and more energy efficient, which is what every inventor of technology is looking for these days. There don't appear to be negative effects, expect for maybe that it could make us even more dependent on technology.
Christi Villagomez
4/18/2011 10:45:36 am
Graphene is one atom thick and highly conductive. Perhaps one day it might allow us to make devices smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient. I don't see there being negative effects, only things to be gained.
M.Myrvold
4/18/2011 11:06:51 am
Sure this could improve our lives; advancements usually do. A possible negative effect could be difficulty in repare, though. If something this small gets damaged, then it would be very hard to fix it. It might just need to be completely replaced, and that would be a pain.
David B.
4/19/2011 12:27:09 am
This could improve our lives in a little way because pencils will be able to conduct electricity if they are made using Graphene with boron nitride and the Graphene (the lead) will be smooth.
Lydia Chevlin
4/19/2011 06:48:31 am
No, I do not think this could improve our lives. Yes, I do think there ould be negative effects, someone could electricute themselves. I think it is very inconvienent and it would take a lot of work to do this.
Nora Ogunleye
4/19/2011 06:52:56 am
Graphene (commonly known as pencil lead) is a highly conductive material (only one atom thick) that may one day replace silicon microchips. This could alter and improve our lives because the graphene could make our devices smaller, faster, and more energy efficient. However, the only downside seems to be finding a proper carrier material that can support the graphene layer without interfering with the electrical property.
Colleen McDonough
4/19/2011 07:51:18 am
I do believe that graphene could change our lives. Being that graphene "may one day replace conventional silicon microchips, making devices smaller, faster and more energy-efficient," I think that a lot of energy would be saved, having a positive effect on the earth itself. I also believe that companies and schools would be able to operate more smoothly because work would be able to get done faster due to the technological devices becoming faster. The only negative effect truly remaining is that the graphene's electrical properties are affected from a shortage of usable carrier materials that can support a flat graphene layer, therefore the physical properties and potential applications of graphene are affected and damaged.
Kelly Donovan
4/19/2011 08:07:39 am
I think that this new technology would improve our lives. It will make things smaller, quicker and more efficient. I think that there are possible negative effects but they are not yet known because of how new this technology is.
Tory Nagel
4/19/2011 08:23:08 am
The use of graphene lead from pencils in thin layers to increase an objects electronic properties could improve our lives. However, scientists have to be careful and complete with their research and testing before objects like this are released to the public in case they could be detrimental. If the tests prove they are beneficial, the use of lead could lead to further chemical and scientific discovery.
Victoria Moore
4/19/2011 08:55:35 am
Graphene is highly conductive of electricity. It could improve our lives by allowing electronic devices that are smaller and more energy efficient to be developed. The negative thing is that you have to be very careful when putting the graphene on a base because it can cause electrons to become trapped which affects the conductivity, depending on what the base is.
Chris Afcha
4/19/2011 08:56:14 am
I think that this is a major discovery because we are in an era that is technologically advancing. This discovery can create smaller electronics and add competition to the industry. I dont see any negative effects.
addison sullivan
4/19/2011 08:59:49 am
Graphene from pencils could very well help our lives. As shown, using graphene significantly imrpoves electronic properties, making things smaller and more able to use. Ultimately, using this will improve a lot; smaller electronics will be more usable and help us advance. Negative effects of using graphene are slim to none- the only thing is the amount of time it might take to produce such electronics.
Samantha Glascock
4/19/2011 10:11:53 am
In some ways, this technology could improve our lives with cheaper, easy to use devices that are smaller also. However, this technology may not last long, rub off as if on a credit card, or it could also be difficult to work with because it is small. There is some problems of the electric current that needs to be fixed, but other than that there appears to be no significant negative effects.
Emily Foster
4/19/2011 10:21:24 am
-One day graphene may replace silicon microchips and make things smaller faster and more energy efficient.
Brandon Haller
4/19/2011 10:52:42 am
I believe that the graphene can help because it can replace conventional silicon microchips, making devices smaller, faster and more energy-efficient. By placing the "lead" layer on a material almost identical in structure, instead of the common silicon oxide found in microchips, they significantly improved its electronic properties. This solved the problem of a lack of suitable carrier materials that could support a flat graphene (lead) layer while not interfering with the electrical properties.
Adam Constsntine
4/19/2011 11:03:12 am
This sounds really interesting but also it is quite confusing. I could see this technology improving our lives since it will make things more condensed than they are now. This is only a thin sheet of atoms yet it will still be able to change the way electronic devices are now. 4/19/2011 11:29:38 am
Graphene is known as a conductor of electricity. Graphene can improve our lives when we use it for not only pencils, but more complex things like microchips. The only negative aspects are that graphene is very small. Therefore it sometimes needs to be used with other items for it to work. It also makes it harder to study and microscopes are often used while studying it.
Thanh Nguyen
4/19/2011 11:33:08 am
yes, but it has very little resistance. this could improve our lives,because we can use graphene to make small electronic devices. and if we work with it to much,we might ger cancer.
Kayla Wieland
4/19/2011 12:05:40 pm
This could improve our lives. Graphene has very little resistance and allows electrons to behave as massless particles like photons, or light particles. It travels through the hexagonal grid at very high speeds. It is one of the thinest insulators making it useful. I think it could be harmful because it acts differently to certian things so research isnt fully reliable.
Kelley Planchak
4/19/2011 12:21:16 pm
I think this new technology is fascinating. It is interesting that graphene on boron nitride improves the electronic properties so greatly when they are structuraily the same but electrically different. I think this could improve our lives by making technology smaller, more portable, and more efficient because eletricity is able to move through graphene easily and quickly. The only negative thing I see about this is it seems to be very much still in theory, more testing should be done before jumping to conclusions. 4/19/2011 12:45:56 pm
While this is all very interesting, I think they've overlooked something very important: graphene (at least in pencils) is incredibly fragile and snaps with great ease. It would seem to me as though the size and fragility are directly proportional (smaller = more fragile). However, smaller micro-computer-chip thingies would likely give computers more memory (or at least help them to fit in that space under your desk), so as long as I can keep my pencils, I'm all for it!
Patrick guelcher
4/19/2011 12:47:56 pm
This new material could improve lives by making electronics even smaller then they have become. Negative effects of this could just be as simple as cost. Since it is so small it could be tougher to manufacture and make it become more expensive.
Jacqui Treco
4/19/2011 01:18:58 pm
yes it could greatly improve our lives by making computers and other electronics more durable, lighter, and more reliable. No I don't think there could be any possible negative effects.
Adeline Turner
4/19/2011 10:04:48 pm
Graphene can change our lives in many ways. Replacing silicon microchips, graphene would make devices smaller, faster, and more energy efficient.From reading the article I don't seem to find any possible negative effects. Everything that is described about graphene sounds like it will improve technology for us.
isidro
4/20/2011 09:36:02 am
Well there are two answers the wood on the pencil does not conduct electricity which means it is a insulator, but the graphite (lead) is a conductor of electricity.Yes, Pencil Lead does conduct Electricity. Copper, Gold and Silver though are the best conductors.
Loxi Armstrong
4/20/2011 11:04:00 am
The wood of the pencil will not conduct electricity. For pencil lead, since it is made out of graphite, it can conduct electricity using the free electrons not involve in bonding.
Leah Morrison
4/25/2011 12:51:23 am
I think that this could be very useful technology because we would waste less materials in making electronics. However this could have set backs because the graphene might not work as well as the silicon, and if the insulator isn't good enough the elctrical currenr could be risky. Still, I think this would be useful especially if the graphene could be applied to other things so we could conserve resources and have more efficient and afordable energy. 5/1/2011 09:11:28 am
For graphene's negative effects, the boron nitride on the graphene might leach toxics out and that would affect our bodies. I don't think it would improve our lives anymore than technology does today, except for making the technology that we use faster and more efficient- the technology would also be smaller, which I don't think changes anything about technology's effectiveness.
Kathryn Wallisch
5/1/2011 09:48:12 am
Yes, the lead in pencils can conduct electricity. The lead could be beneficial in our lives in things such as steel making . There can be negative effects in using it also because lead is poisonous.
Brian Strickland
5/12/2011 08:41:26 pm
This could improve our lives by making technologies like computers and phones become smaller and more reliable but most of all probably cheaper and more affordable to most americans. The only possible negative effect is that it's really hard to find
Audrey Roper
5/12/2011 10:07:04 pm
I think this new technology could really improve our lives because it makes devices smaller, faster and more energy-efficient. The only negative thing about the graphene layers is that it is weak between the atoms belonging to different layers. You have to fold it to make it stronger.
Andrew Leary
5/12/2011 10:11:38 pm
This could improve our lives becasue it could make devices smaller so that they are more portable, faster to save time, and it takes less energy to run.It "has suffered from a lack of suitable carrier materials that can support a flat graphene layer while not interfering with its electrical properties."
Chris Zapiain
5/14/2011 11:33:36 am
Yes. I believe this newfound technology discovered in graphene could most certainly improve our lives. Aside from being a conductor and still the thinnest material on earth, graphene is a potential replacement for conventional silicon microchips. It is an alternative to slower and less efficient predecessors.
Nora Ogunleye
5/14/2011 01:46:37 pm
Graphene, also known as pencil lead, is one atom thick and has highly conductive characteristics that would make our everyday devices smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient. Besides the issue of finding an appropriate carrier material that would not interfere with its electrical properties, graphene seems to have a several positive effects with seemingly slim to none negative outcomes.
Samantha Steward
5/15/2011 03:28:38 am
It could improve our lives in making technology smaller (easier to carry around) and faster. But then again, technology just keeps getting faster and faster and we're always looking for ways to speed things up.
Heather
5/15/2011 10:16:25 am
This can definitely change the way we live now. The article says that graphene is a single sheet of atoms which makes it possible to create even smaller electronic devices than we have now. It is also the thinnest material on earth! this is big. it could change the way we live forever.
Hope Davis
5/16/2011 07:52:30 am
I think it could improve our lives, but it would not really be noticed by anyone outside the world of chemistry. I cannot think of any negative affects.
liz crean
5/16/2011 09:39:04 am
I didnt realize pencil lead had very little resistance, and they can travel through a hexagonal grid at high speeds.
Lexi Swartz
5/16/2011 09:34:01 pm
this could be benigical to us because it would give us a different organic source of energy to use however it could also be bad because it could give us lead poisoning.
Katherine Duquiatan
11/21/2011 09:56:22 am
I think that our pencils conduct electricity. Boron nitride will help insulate the electricity and will cause the pencils writing to be smoother. This might leave less of the lead pieces that comes from the pencil when you write and it will also make writing with a pencil even more clearer. 2/20/2015 02:02:12 pm
Could this improve our lives? Are there any possible negative effects? 2/20/2015 03:28:00 pm
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