UK to boost development of "super-material" graphemeDecember 27, 2012 - 14:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced extra funding to boost the UK's development of the so-called "super-material" grapheme, BBC News reported. It is one of the lightest yet strongest and most conductive materials known to man - and was originally discovered by scientists at Manchester University. Now other universities will be asked to research potential commercial uses. Mr Osborne said the £21.5m investment fund would aim to take the technology from the lab to the factory floor. He has previously pledged money for such research, including £50m in 2011. Graphene is made of sheets of carbon just one atom thick, and has outstanding mechanical strength and electronic properties. Manchester University academics Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for demonstrating its properties. It is hoped that the material will be used in a wide array of industrial and everyday applications. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has identified the most promising graphene-related research projects in British universities to benefit from state funding. The University of Cambridge has been awarded more than £12m for research into graphene flexible electronics and opto-electronics, which could include things like touch-screens and other display devices. London's Imperial College will receive over £4.5m to investigate aerospace applications of graphene. The other successful projects are based at Durham University, the University of Manchester, the University of Exeter and Royal Holloway. The universities will work with industrial partners including Nokia, BAE Systems, Procter & Gamble, Qinetiq, Rolls-Royce, Dyson, Sharp and Philips Research, which will together bring in a further £12m in investment. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |