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3 Ways to Invest in a Future Multi-Trillion Dollar Graphene Market
The Motley Fool
Adam Galas
10/19/2014
Excerpt:
One of the most exciting discoveries of the past decade has been graphene, a simple two dimensional sheet of pure carbon atoms. Its production was revolutionized by two scientists at the University of Manchester (who applied sticky tape to a block of graphite, such as that found in pencil lead), who won the the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics thanks to the potential implications of the nano-material.
What's so special about graphene?
Perhaps the better question is what's NOT amazing about graphene, a substance with physical properties that boggle the imagination.
For example, graphene is the strongest material ever discovered, 100 times stronger than diamond, and 200 times stronger than steel. It's also amazingly flexible, and more conductive than copper, both in terms of heat and electricity.
Why this matters
So graphene possesses some super cool attributes. Is that really going to change the world? Actually, that's exactly what might happen, given the incredible potential applications of this material to the world of electronics, energy storage, telecommunications, renewable power, health care, and telecommunications.
Brian Cox, Professor of Particle Physics at Manchester University and a leader on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), recently told Credit Suisse that graphene has the potential to become a multi-billion or even multi-trillion dollar industry.
Graphene applications in computing
Now I know what you're thinking -- "Multi-trillion dollar industry? There better be some REALLY amazing technological applications to back up a claim like that." However, just take a look at what researchers around the world are doing with these flat sheets of carbon.
IBM is investing $3 billion into advanced computer chips that utilize graphene, carbon nanotubes, quantum computing and synthetic brains, according to Fastcompany.
The company is betting on the long-term payoff that a wealth of graphene patents might bring. This is because, according to industry experts, copper wires (which currently conduct electricity in computer chips) will reach their miniaturization limit in 2015. Similarly, silicon-based chips, which are currently built on a scale of 22 nanometers (nm), with next generation chips on a 14 nm scale, are fast approaching their own size limitations of 7 nm, 5 nm, and 3 nm, according to IBM, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC ) , and Applied Materials, respectively (each company differs on how small they think silicon technology can get).
Graphene, due to its diminutive size and amazing thermal, electrical, and optical properties, will allow for further miniaturization and allow computers to continue on their historical track -- doubling in power every two years (Moore's law).
A great example of how IBM is using graphene to keep Moore's law alive in spirit (Moore's law literally applies to the number of silicon transistors on a chip) came in January, when IBM researchers built a radio frequency ID (RFID) chip that was 10,000 times faster than its silicon-based counterpart. The key was a new manufacturing technique that lined the transistor channels with ultra conductive graphene.
In addition, graphene can be used to create local fiber optic networks within an individual computer. This will make for faster, more energy efficient and cheaper computers. In addition, because graphene is completely non-toxic, they'll be more environmentally friendly as well.
Graphene applications in consumer electronics
Graphene also has the potential to completely disrupt the consumer electronics industry, especially when it comes to smartphones.
For example, according to the American Chemical Society, "Touch screens made with graphene 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. ... Because of graphene's incredible strength, these cell phones would be nearly unbreakable."
When can we expect the graphene age to begin?
As with any new and potentially world changing technology, it will take many years for researchers to discover and refine graphene applications. In addition, a cheap and reliable manufacturing method must be devised to make graphene in massive, industrial-scale quantities, in order for its costs to be competitive or better than that of existing materials.
..........................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...on-dollar.aspx
The Motley Fool
Adam Galas
10/19/2014
Excerpt:
One of the most exciting discoveries of the past decade has been graphene, a simple two dimensional sheet of pure carbon atoms. Its production was revolutionized by two scientists at the University of Manchester (who applied sticky tape to a block of graphite, such as that found in pencil lead), who won the the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics thanks to the potential implications of the nano-material.
What's so special about graphene?
Perhaps the better question is what's NOT amazing about graphene, a substance with physical properties that boggle the imagination.
For example, graphene is the strongest material ever discovered, 100 times stronger than diamond, and 200 times stronger than steel. It's also amazingly flexible, and more conductive than copper, both in terms of heat and electricity.
Why this matters
So graphene possesses some super cool attributes. Is that really going to change the world? Actually, that's exactly what might happen, given the incredible potential applications of this material to the world of electronics, energy storage, telecommunications, renewable power, health care, and telecommunications.
Brian Cox, Professor of Particle Physics at Manchester University and a leader on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), recently told Credit Suisse that graphene has the potential to become a multi-billion or even multi-trillion dollar industry.
Graphene applications in computing
Now I know what you're thinking -- "Multi-trillion dollar industry? There better be some REALLY amazing technological applications to back up a claim like that." However, just take a look at what researchers around the world are doing with these flat sheets of carbon.
IBM is investing $3 billion into advanced computer chips that utilize graphene, carbon nanotubes, quantum computing and synthetic brains, according to Fastcompany.
The company is betting on the long-term payoff that a wealth of graphene patents might bring. This is because, according to industry experts, copper wires (which currently conduct electricity in computer chips) will reach their miniaturization limit in 2015. Similarly, silicon-based chips, which are currently built on a scale of 22 nanometers (nm), with next generation chips on a 14 nm scale, are fast approaching their own size limitations of 7 nm, 5 nm, and 3 nm, according to IBM, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC ) , and Applied Materials, respectively (each company differs on how small they think silicon technology can get).
Graphene, due to its diminutive size and amazing thermal, electrical, and optical properties, will allow for further miniaturization and allow computers to continue on their historical track -- doubling in power every two years (Moore's law).
A great example of how IBM is using graphene to keep Moore's law alive in spirit (Moore's law literally applies to the number of silicon transistors on a chip) came in January, when IBM researchers built a radio frequency ID (RFID) chip that was 10,000 times faster than its silicon-based counterpart. The key was a new manufacturing technique that lined the transistor channels with ultra conductive graphene.
In addition, graphene can be used to create local fiber optic networks within an individual computer. This will make for faster, more energy efficient and cheaper computers. In addition, because graphene is completely non-toxic, they'll be more environmentally friendly as well.
Graphene applications in consumer electronics
Graphene also has the potential to completely disrupt the consumer electronics industry, especially when it comes to smartphones.
For example, according to the American Chemical Society, "Touch screens made with graphene 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. ... Because of graphene's incredible strength, these cell phones would be nearly unbreakable."
When can we expect the graphene age to begin?
As with any new and potentially world changing technology, it will take many years for researchers to discover and refine graphene applications. In addition, a cheap and reliable manufacturing method must be devised to make graphene in massive, industrial-scale quantities, in order for its costs to be competitive or better than that of existing materials.
..........................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...on-dollar.aspx
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