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Physicists Say Graphene Could Create Mass

Posted by kdawson on from the boson-walks-into-a-church dept.

eldavojohn writes "Graphene has gotten a lot of press lately. The Nobel prize-winning, fastest-spinning, nanobubble-enhanced silicon replacement is theorized to have a new, more outlandish property. As reported by Technology Review's Physics Blog, graphene should be able to create mass inside properly formed nanotubes. According to Abdulaziz Alhaidari's calculations, if one were to roll up graphene into a nanotube, this could compactifiy dimensions (from the sheet's two down to the tube's one), and thus 'the massless equations that describe the behavior of electrons and holes will change to include a term for mass. In effect, compactifying dimensions creates mass.' What once would require a massive high-energy particle accelerator can now be tested with carbon, electricity, and wires, according to the recent paper."

3 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not 1-dimensional by Xelios · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you RTFA they clarify that the tube is 1 dimensional as far as the electrons and holes are concerned, probably because instead of being able to move across the sheet of graphene in both the x and y directions they're now constrained to move only in one direction, up and down the nanotube. If there's only one possible axis of movement, then you're effectively in a 1 dimensional system.

    --
    Murphey's fighting Occam, and we're in the stands.
  2. This phenomenon closely related to: by zooblethorpe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The bogon.

    Seriously, can't anyone at Tech Review spot the flaw here? A tube still has more than one dimension. Even if you managed to create a chain of single carbon atoms, you'd still have multiple dimensions, in that the atoms comprising the chain are not infinitely short and infinitely flat.

    Bah. Sensationalist nonsense non-news.

    --
    "What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
    "A four-foot prune."
  3. Yes, but tech blog made a hash of it. by zooblethorpe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Cheers, thanks. The main issue is that the blog really made a hash of the explanation with sensationalist claptrap:

    amazing properties of graphene now include the ability to create mass

    ... which is utter hokum. Further down the page, there are a couple breakdowns of the paper itself, which make it clear that what they're doing is what you say -- constraining the physics of a potential experiment to simplify the mathematics involved.

    Cheers,

    --
    "What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
    "A four-foot prune."