By all measures, graphene shouldn’t exist. The fact it does comes down to a neat loophole in physics that sees an impossible 2D sheet of atoms act like a solid 3D material. New research has delved into graphene’s rippling, discovering a physical phenomenon on an atomic scale that could be exploited as a way to produce a virtually limitless supply of clean energy. The team of physicists led by researchers from the University of Arkansas didn’t set out to discover a radical new way to power electronic devices. Their aim was far more humble – to simply watch how graphene shakes. We’re all familiar with the gritty black carbon-based material called graphite , which is commonly combined with a ceramic material to make the so-called ‘lead’ in pencils. What we see as smears left by the pencil are actually stacked sheets of carbon atoms arranged in a ‘chicken wire’ […]