 Imagine if there was a lightweight material out there, which was not only thin, but very strong and versatile, and may help us solve some of our problems and achieve some of our goals. Well, there is no need to imagine it, because it may be a reality. Graphene is a paradoxal material. Being just one atom thick, it's one of the thinnest and lightest materials ever. However, it's not just those features that make graphene appealing. Graphene is also one of the most strongest materials, having a tensile strength clocking in at around 130 billion pascals. For reference, the strength of A36 structural steel is 400 million pascals. No wonder graphene is dubbed as science's wonder material. It's not just strength that makes graphene amazing. It also has amazing thermal conductivity, with many studies saying it can theoretically absorb and transfer an unlimited amount of heat. In addition to having superb electrical conductivity, being able to conduct electricity faster and more efficiently than copper, allowing it to have a potential application in electronics. So far, we can all agree graphene is a wonderful thing, but to understand how it's so wonderful, we have to look at its structure. Graphene is nothing but a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. Carbon is well known for its ability to form bonds easily with other elements, which is why it's such a vital part to building the organic molecules necessary for life. However, when two carbon atoms bind together, it's one of the strongest bonds man knows of, which explains where graphene gets strength from. In addition, the strong bonds between carbon atoms means it takes a lot of energy to break them apart, which is why graphene's melting point is way higher than diamonds. Now that we have spent some time looking at the marvelous specs of graphene's structure, let's take a look at some of its potential applications. Graphene holds the key to finding a way to purify saltwater or contaminated water, which would allow for people in underdeveloped countries to gain access to clean drinking water. Graphene is a hydrophobic material. However, researchers working with the material overcame this barrier by drilling very tiny holes in the graphene in order to make it permeable. Upon doing this, the researchers noted that graphene could filter out any particle larger than one nanometer. But it's not just water filtration where graphene can be applied. If we were to take a sheet of graphene and roll it up into a rod shape, we would have what is called carbon nanotubes. Since they are made of the same material as graphene, they have the same strength and resilience while being only a nanometer thick. This new shape of graphene allows it to be used in a wide array of applications from semi-conductors to building structures. In fact, it's believed that carbon nanotubes may help us build a space elevator, but that's another story for another day. Unfortunately, as appealing as graphene is, it does come with some obstacles. In fact, these obstacles are so huge they hold graphene back from being used in a wide range of applications, at least in the near future. The first issue with graphene production and application is cost. To produce high quality graphene is very expensive, and while there are alternative methods that are cheaper, they don't produce as good of a quality. Additionally, we are still attempting to find a way to manufacture it on a large scale. You see, graphene was invented back in 2004 when two Russian physicists discovered you can make graphene if you made a mark with pencil graphite, which is just multiple layers of carbon stacked on top of each other, on one end of a tape, and use the other end of a tape to peel off all but one layer of carbon. The problem with this method is that it's painstaking, and not scalable into a larger more efficient method, so it looks like we won't be getting a space elevator anytime soon. If you're feeling sad, don't worry, because science is always advancing and helping us find new ways to solve problems, so maybe we will see the graphene age in the future. Anyways, I hope you at least know what graphene is and what it's capable of doing. Till then, you should subscribe to learn more about graphene and other developments in science.