Atom-Thick Balloon Inflated 120
Anonymous Cow writes "Researchers have inflated gas-filled balloons of graphene, the atom-thick carbon material being used to make super-small transistors. Apart from giving them a valid claim to be in the Guinness Book of Records, it could apparently be handy for weighing microscopic objects. 'The sheets were used to seal microscopic wells made in a layer of silica glass, forming a kind of drum head. The membranes were held in place only by the van der Waals forces that make things sticky at microscopic scales. The wells varied from 1 to 100 square micrometers in area and 250 nanometers to 3 micrometers deep.'"
I think they've just upped the ante... (Score:2, Insightful)
consumer uses (Score:5, Insightful)
this will be the thinnest condom ever!
Re:consumer uses (Score:4, Insightful)
this will be the thinnest condom ever!
That's not as daft as you might think, for many people the stated reason for not using condoms is lack of sensitivity caused by their thickness.
Were there a way to reduce thickness to this extent, there would be a huge amount of money to be made.
Wait a minute (Score:2, Insightful)
Ok, the membrane is one atom thick. Now said membrane is holding in a gas of atoms. Since atoms are mostly empty space, why doesn't the gas atoms pass through the membrane?
Re:consumer uses (Score:3, Insightful)
Were there a way to reduce thickness to this extent, there would be a huge amount of money to be made.
In lawsuits when they break. One atom thick? That's makes for some pretty sharp edges of busted condom to have in sensitive places for both parties.
Re:consumer uses (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course if you don't want pills because you don't think they're safe, then IMHO it does not make much sense to want an IUD if doctors don't think they're safe enough for you...
Of course there can be other reasons for not wanting pills than just "safety", in which case above does not apply.