3 ms·
If you can see or handle it, it's not a single atom thick.
by LoganDark 3y ago
If you can see or handle it, it's not a single atom thick.
- satvikpendem 3y agoGraphene is definitely observable every time you use a pencil. It will mostly be graphite, but parts are graphene as well. And if that isn't enough, the tape method of producing graphene also makes a visible layer.
- achow 3y agoGraphite, not graphene.
- mkl 3y agoI doubt you're ever seeing a single layer from a pencil. "Although graphene is probably produced every time one uses a pencil, it is extremely difficult to find small graphene crystallites in the “haystack” of millions of thicker graphitic flakes which appear during the cleavage. In fact, no modern visualization technique including atomic-force, scanning- tunneling, and electron microscopies is capable of finding graphene because of their extremely low throughput at the required atomic resolution or the absence of clear signatures distinguishing atomic monolayers from thicker flakes." -- Making Graphene Visible https://www.physics.purdue.edu/quantum/files/CarbonNano/make-graphene-visible.pdf https://www.physics.purdue.edu/quantum/files/CarbonNano/make..., which shows it can be made visible by preparing it on an appropriate substrate. More here, where the answer is both "no", and "yes, if it's big enough": https://www.quora.com/unanswered/Is-graphene-visible-to-the-human-eye https://www.quora.com/unanswered/Is-graphene-visible-to-the-...
- kylebenzle 3y agoNot true.
- bee_rider 3y agoSays you! Some of us have the skills required to handle a .0000003mm mechanical pencil. In 2B even!
- LoganDark 3y agoInteresting, but that sounds like it's in the realm of tools, not direct handling. Either a normal sized pencil that contains that thickness of material, or a microscopic pencil that itself needs tools to be manipulated.