According to foreign media reports from Sina Technology, two Russian-born scientists, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics on October 5 for their “groundbreaking experiments” regarding graphene. This material is expected to play a significant role in the field of electronics.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences stated in the award citation that Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov made outstanding contributions through their experiments with graphene. Graphene is a thin flake of carbon that is only one atom thick. The citation noted that experiments conducted on graphene can be used to develop new substances and produce innovative electronic products. Geim and Novoselov demonstrated through their experiments that graphene possesses extraordinary properties, which originate from the unusual world of quantum physics.
The citation further explained that graphene is a form of carbon. As a substance, it is entirely new; it is not only the thinnest but also the hardest material known. As an electrical conductor, its performance is comparable to that of copper. As a thermal conductor, its performance exceeds that of any other known material. Because it is almost entirely transparent yet extremely dense, even helium atoms find it difficult to pass through it. Carbon, the fundamental substance for all known life on Earth, has once again surprised humanity. Geim and Novoselov extracted graphene from a piece of graphite; they used common adhesive tape to obtain graphene that is only one atom thick, at a time when many believed such thin crystalline materials could not be stable. However, by obtaining graphene, scientists can now study two-dimensional structural materials with unique properties.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences stated: “Since it is essentially a transparent and very good conductor, graphene can be used to produce transparent touchscreens, light panels, and even solar cells. It is a perfect atomic lattice.”
Geim, 51, is a Dutch citizen. He was born in Sochi, Russia, in 1958. He obtained his PhD from the Institute of Solid State Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1987. He is currently the Director of the Manchester Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology, the Langworthy Research Professor at the University of Manchester, and a Royal Society 2010 Anniversary Research Professor.
Novoselov, 36, holds dual British and Russian citizenship. He was born in Nizhny Tagil, Russia, in 1974. He obtained his PhD from Radboud University Nijmegen in 2004. He is a Professor at the University of Manchester and a Royal Society Research Fellow. Novoselov worked with Geim while pursuing his PhD in the Netherlands and subsequently followed Geim to the United Kingdom.
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