Submitted by: Submitted by zegen2010
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Words: 659
Pages: 3
Category: Science and Technology
Date Submitted: 04/26/2013 07:41 AM
Graphene is a rapidly rising star on the horizon of materials science and condensed matter physics. This
strictly two-dimensional material exhibits exceptionally high crystal and electronic quality and, despite its
short history, has already revealed a cornucopia of new physics and potential applications, which are
briefly discussed here. Whereas one can be certain of the realness of applications only when commercial
products appear, graphene no longer requires any further proof of its importance in terms of
fundamental physics. Owing to its unusual electronic spectrum, graphene has led to the emergence of a
new paradigm of “relativistic” condensed matter physics, where quantum relativistic phenomena, some of
which are unobservable in high energy physics, can now be mimicked and tested in table-top experiments.
More generally, graphene represents a conceptually new class of materials that are only one atom thick
and, on this basis, offers new inroads into low-dimensional physics that has never ceased to surprise and
continues to provide a fertile ground for applications.
Graphene is the name given to a flat monolayer of carbon atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional (2D)
honeycomb lattice, and is a basic building block for graphitic materials of all other dimensionalities (Figure 1). It
can be wrapped up into 0D fullerenes, rolled into 1D nanotubes or stacked into 3D graphite. Theoretically,
graphene (or “2D graphite”) has been studied for sixty years1-3 and widely used for describing properties of
various carbon-based materials. Forty years later, it was realized that graphene also provides an excellent
condensed-matter analogue of (2+1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics4-6, which propelled graphene into a
thriving theoretical toy model. On the other hand, although known as integral part of 3D materials, graphene was
presumed not to exist in the free state, being described as an “academic” material5 and believed to be unstable
with respect...