Gregness
10-05-2010, 08:06 PM
Because we need less depressing news 'round these parts, here's some highlights: (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101005/ap_on_hi_te/eu_nobel_physics)
STOCKHOLM – Two Russian-born scientists shared the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for groundbreaking experiments with the strongest and thinnest material known to mankind — a potential building block for faster computers and lighter airplanes and satellites.
University of Manchester professors Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov used Scotch tape to isolate graphene, a form of carbon only one atom thick but more than 100 times stronger than steel, and showed it has exceptional properties, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.
Experiments with graphene could lead to the development of new superstrong and lightweight materials with which to make satellites, aircraft and cars, the academy said in announcing the 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) award.
*snip*
The two scientists used simple Scotch tape as a crucial tool in their experiments, peeling off thin flakes of graphene from a piece of graphite, the stuff of pencil leads.
"It's a humble technique. But the hard work came later," Geim told the AP.
Paolo Radaelli, a physics professor at the University of Oxford, marveled at the simple methods the winners used.
"In this age of complexity, with machines like the super collider, they managed to get the Nobel using Scotch tape," Radaelli said.
*snip*
Laurence Eaves, a physics professor at the University of Nottingham in Britain, said the duo showed how science should be done.
"These were just a couple of guys driven by their curiosity, doing what they thought was interesting, and invented this amazing material," he said.
Also worth mentioning is that these guys are just generally awesome
Geim last year won the prestigious Korber European Science Award for the discovery, the University of Manchester said. He also won the "Ig nobel" prize in 2000 for making a frog levitate in a magnetic field. That award is handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications.
So, I can only imagine the kinds of cool stuff we'll see in twenty or thirty years if this graphene stuff proves itself to be viable on a large scale. I mean, this is pretty much the super construction material we've been waiting for to make all those wacky anime spaceships and modern body armor and honest-to-god space elevators practical right?
STOCKHOLM – Two Russian-born scientists shared the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for groundbreaking experiments with the strongest and thinnest material known to mankind — a potential building block for faster computers and lighter airplanes and satellites.
University of Manchester professors Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov used Scotch tape to isolate graphene, a form of carbon only one atom thick but more than 100 times stronger than steel, and showed it has exceptional properties, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.
Experiments with graphene could lead to the development of new superstrong and lightweight materials with which to make satellites, aircraft and cars, the academy said in announcing the 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) award.
*snip*
The two scientists used simple Scotch tape as a crucial tool in their experiments, peeling off thin flakes of graphene from a piece of graphite, the stuff of pencil leads.
"It's a humble technique. But the hard work came later," Geim told the AP.
Paolo Radaelli, a physics professor at the University of Oxford, marveled at the simple methods the winners used.
"In this age of complexity, with machines like the super collider, they managed to get the Nobel using Scotch tape," Radaelli said.
*snip*
Laurence Eaves, a physics professor at the University of Nottingham in Britain, said the duo showed how science should be done.
"These were just a couple of guys driven by their curiosity, doing what they thought was interesting, and invented this amazing material," he said.
Also worth mentioning is that these guys are just generally awesome
Geim last year won the prestigious Korber European Science Award for the discovery, the University of Manchester said. He also won the "Ig nobel" prize in 2000 for making a frog levitate in a magnetic field. That award is handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine for silly sounding scientific discoveries that often have surprisingly practical applications.
So, I can only imagine the kinds of cool stuff we'll see in twenty or thirty years if this graphene stuff proves itself to be viable on a large scale. I mean, this is pretty much the super construction material we've been waiting for to make all those wacky anime spaceships and modern body armor and honest-to-god space elevators practical right?