Computers in Medicine Online

Computers in Medicine (sm) - Online Newsletter is a quarterly online newsletter on computer applications for the medical profession (Published on the Web since 1996)

2nd Quarter '2008 Edition

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Graphene - A Technological Revolution in the Making

In 2004, scientists that the University of Manchester were the first to create the substance known as graphene. It was described in the journal Science as:

"Graphene is the name given to a single layer of carbon atoms densely packed into a benzene-ring structure, and is widely used to describe properties of many carbon-based materials, including graphite, large fullerenes, nanotubes, etc. (e.g., carbon nanotubes are usually thought of as graphene sheets rolled up into nanometer-sized cylinders). Planar graphene itself has been presumed not to exist in the free state, being unstable with respect to the formation of curved structures such as soot, fullerenes, and nanotubes."

In other words, Graphene is a very thin material which is composed of a single layer of atoms. The key here is that Graphene is the thinnest material ever made, and could revolutionize computers and medicine!

Graphene membranes could eventually replace silicon in computer circuitry due to their potential at being a far more effective transisitor. The University of Manchester has proven Graphene based transistors would be faster and use less power than the silicon-based transistors being used today.

Last year, IBM's T. J. Watson Research Center reported they had developed field effect transistors based on Graphene, which could in fact lead to much faster and smaller computers in the years to come.

In medicine, the thinness of Graphene membranes could give a much clearer picture of the structure of molecules, especially the proteins believed to be key in developing new medicines.

For more information on Graphene check out the Wikipedia entry regarding Graphene.

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Last Update: 3/25/2008