Read a short article about graphene, the invention that got Nobel Prize in 2010

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As described in Nobel's will, one part was dedicated to “the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics”.

Two Russian scientists from the University of Manchester have been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Physics following their pioneering research on Graphene, an exotic form of carbon that could revolutionise technology as we know it.

Graphene is a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms that are packed in a honeycomb crystal structure which gives it its flexibility and its strength and has been hailed as the rockstar of the world of materials by some.

It has some interesting physical and electrical properties, like the fact that it is a good conductor of electricity while being almost transparent and being extremely strong.

Researchers expect graphene to be used in computer displays, solar panels, touch screens and even replace Silicon in the production of super fast transistors and integrated circuits.

IBM for example has been able to produce graphene transistors that could toggle between states at 100GHz, which is roughly 20 times faster than the current champion, the 5.2GHz IBM z196 processor.

Scientists however are looking for more economic ways of producing the material on an industrial scale with even less waste than current techniques.

2) Visit the website given below, watch and listen to Willard S. Boyle’ s Nobel Speech about his invention

http://nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=1204

Listen to the tape once again and fill in the gaps

1. I’m sure that you’ve all heard that this …………… starts with a phone call at five o’clock in the morning.

2. The …………… was very important when it coupled the skills of a theoretical physicist with an ……………. .

3. During the nineteen-forties, a major problem began to appear in the telephone-switching ……………. .

4. We are talking now about Brattain, Bardeen, and Schockley, who went on to explore the Transistor Effect and, in the process, established the whole field of …………… electronics.

5. The invention of the CCD took place one afternoon over one of our frequent …………… sessions at the blackboard.

6. It had been ………….. that Bell Labs would be presenting something special at this meeting and it was attended by many interested people from the West Coast.

7. One was from a group of twenty …………… telescope directors.

8. I felt a …………… achievement with mankind’s new extension of his vision into planetary space.

Prepare a report to compare the importance of invention of graphene and CCD – an extension of man’s vision for science and people

Reference letter (a letter of recommendation)