Loudspeakers

Graphene is a one atom-thick lattice of carbon, a two-dimensional structure that's claimed to be the toughest material yet discovered – its 130 gigapascal tensile strength outstripping 0.4GPa for high tensile steel and 0.38GPa for Kevlar. Graphene is also very light at 0.77mg/m2, so a single 'sheet' covering the area of a football pitch would still weigh less than 1g.

Consequently, alongside its remarkable electrical and optical properties, Graphene's combination of exceptional rigidity and light weight makes it the ideal candidate for reinforcing a loudspeaker cone (a pure Graphene cone is impractical). The material was first isolated in 2004 by two researchers at The University of Manchester, Professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov, by stripping a one-atom thick layer from a graphite substrate. The material takes the form of a carbon 'sheet' with groups of atoms arranged in a hexagonal 'chicken wire' pattern [see inset picture]. PM