Graphene Conducts Electricity Ten Times Better Than Expected 161
ananyo writes "Physicists have produced nanoribbons of graphene — the single-atom-thick carbon — that conduct electrons better than theory predicted even for the most idealized form of the material (abstract). The finding could help graphene realize its promise in high-end electronics, where researchers have long hoped it could outperform traditional materials such as silicon. In graphene, electrons can move faster than in any other material at room temperature. But techniques that cut sheets of graphene into the narrow ribbons needed to form wires of a nano-scale circuit leave ragged edges, which disrupt the electron flow. Now a team led by physicist Walt de Heer at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta has made ribbons that conduct electric charges for more than 10 micrometres without meeting resistance — 1,000 times farther than in typical graphene nanoribbons. The ribbons made by de Heer's team in fact conduct electrons ten times better than standard theories of electron transport they should, say the authors."
10x better than standard theory says? (Score:2, Insightful)
I am skeptical about such an extraordinary claim.
Side note: Please, stop with the "fuck beta" campaign; I find this campaign FAR MORE DISRUPTIVE to the enjoyment of /. than the beta itself. Get over Yourselves already.
Real question (Score:4, Insightful)
While it is interesting to see the advances with graphene, if used to make super fast computers, isn't the "wiring" on the chip only a small part of the problem? Have they found a way to make the transistors and resistors and parts on the chip out of graphene? If not, wouldn't the speed improvements be nonexistent? It would seem that it would be like taking a super highway and bringing all the traffic down to one lane at the exits (or maybe a bridge in NJ).
Re: Correct Authority (Score:5, Insightful)
Rather than see these as off topic posts, spamming the message boards, try the perspective that there is only one topic until this issue is resolved to the communities satisfaction and that these comments are in fact using the message boards for their intended purpose: maintaining a moderated discussion guided by the consensus generated by the readership.
These posts have become the most effective manner of communicating to the correct authority. The correct authority in this case is the broad readership, some of whom are just learning about this. The other authority is the controlling entities who have thus far made some poor choices about not responding to the communities posts in the designated channels. Therefore this is the next step in a spectrum of responses.
I personally apologize to you for the necessity of this step which has been provoked by the site operators. I do hope things change quickly, since I love slashdot. I am slashdot.
Re:10x better than standard theory says? (Score:4, Insightful)
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Fuck beta now, or be fucked by it forever.
Re:We don't know that. (Score:5, Insightful)
I can assure you it's not the same AC over and over because AC comments are throttled by IP address.
However, if slashdot dies because of this, it won't be because of Dice. It will be because like the dinosaurs, we couldn't adapt.
Why should we have to adapt to garbage? I don't think anyone would refuse to adapt to a new paint scheme, it's the fact that the new site is fundamentally and functionally broken by design. The fact that dice felt now was a good time to start forcing users to something so broken shows that they have a fundamental misunderstanding of what this place is about. It's not that the beta site is a little buggy, it's that it is completely broken.
At the very least they should have waited until commenting was at functional parity before revealing their hand but now it's too late, they have revealed the direction of things to come and it does not bode well for the future of the slashdot.org domain.
I love it (Score:3, Insightful)
For people who claim that science is wrong/bad/not complete - this is the kind of thing that research and study can do.
The expected result was off by 10x. This doesn't mean that science sucks - but rather there is a new question to be answered that will allow us to understand the world just a little bit better.
AWESOME.
Re:We don't know that. (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, Beta is like world destroying comet, and we the inhabitants of that world.
The real question is, in what way does the fucking beta make slashdot better? Just take one example, the ridiculous amount of whitespace around posts. That's millions of monitors burning electricity displaying absolutely nothing. Secondly, because so little information is displayed, there will be a lot more scrolling required. That will contribute to wrist and elbow problems for those who don't yet have them, and for people like me who do, aggravate them.
Fucking beta is killing the planet and it's bad for your health. So yeah -- dinos like me are gonna bitch. Suck it up.
Re:We don't know that. (Score:5, Insightful)
The fast majority of the F*ck Beta comments are coming from ACs. For all we know that could be a single individual or even a bot.
No, actually, I've been surprised by the number of real posts here against the beta, some of them with some incredibly low UID's. Much as I hate the beta, even I never expected such an overwhelming response (and, believe me, I've been around here a lot longer than my UID would indicate).
Re:Beta delenda est! (Score:4, Insightful)
These comments are Slashdot's response. The management-speak in the Beta article is Dice's. They made it perfectly clear that, even after all this backlash, Classic will soon be gone:
Most importantly, we want you to know that Classic Slashdot isn't going away until we're confident that the new site is ready. [slashdot.org]
I, too, am here for the intelligent discussion. So I do apologize. But Dice ignores our complaints, while pretending to listen. Ruining every single discussion is the only option we have left.
Re:I am in Beta Now, (Score:5, Insightful)
Try using bold or italics or posting a link. Try to find the URL of a comment. Log off and try to log back in, I couldn't log in at work (they use IE7).
No, they added nothing of value and removed much of value. Does Microsoft own Dice?
Re:Beta delenda est! (Score:4, Insightful)
It's not a mere redesign, it's a fundamental change in the way slashdot works by changing what slashdot is all about. They should have waited until things actually worked before revealing the beta, but as it is, by forcing users to the fundamentally broken beta site they've shown that they no longer care about the community.
Forcing users to a completely unusable site shows nothing but contempt for the users.
Protests will die, but that won't mean acceptance. (Score:2, Insightful)
Side note: Please, stop with the "fuck beta" campaign; I find this campaign FAR MORE DISRUPTIVE to the enjoyment of /. than the beta itself. Get over Yourselves already.
It will die down on its own eventually as people grow tired of yelling and not being heard. We don't live in an age in which protests are appreciated or encouraged anymore. Unfortunately, this will probably lead the powers to be behind the site design to believe that this meant it was just a vocal minority and that the majority of Slashdot is chill with the redesign or have "come around" on it. That will be wrong, but such self-delusion is inevitable.
There's obviously heavy personal investment in the time and energy (and money) in creating the new Beta site. It isn't going to go away, despite being a terrible idea, because the people behind it won't be able to admit for various personal and professional reasons that they've f'ed up royally. So, in their minds, they'll have to build a fortress of arguments to shore up their position. No doubt they're smart people, so they'll probably be really good at rationalization. In my professional experience, once people have started working on a design they helped create, they get very territorial and hard to move in new directions.
The end result is a train wreck we can all see coming. What people is the equivalent of yelling at someone on a screen not to go in the cabin in the woods where the killer is waiting. They know it isn't going to help, but it helps them deal with an unpleasant situation. The woman, like Slashdot, was dead the moment the scene started.