Condensed Matter / optics / Physics / etc.

Graphene and Me: My Brush with the Wonder Material

Graphene, a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of carbon atoms, has made waves in science and technology circles. Last week, I gave a brief overview of the history of the stuff and why it’s special. This week, I’d like to continue the story by talking about applications. Unfortunately for us—and fortunately for society as a whole—graphene has spawned so many new technologies that it’s impossible for me to discuss them all. So instead, I thought I’d talk a single application that has personal value to me. As an undergraduate student, I spent two years in a laser lab studying graphene’s applications