Graphene: The World's Thinnest Lightbulb

Graphene has long been acclaimed by popular media that covers nanotechnologies because of its ever increasing number of unique properties and applications - including  extraordinary strength and conductibility. Recently, researchers at the Seoul National University, the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, and Columbia University have added to graphene's impressive resume when they developed a light bulb with a graphene filament that was an atom thick.

Previously, extremely small filaments like this were not feasible because the filament would have to be heated to exorbitant temperatures that, even if they didn't melt the filament, would melt the surrounding materials. Graphene, however, offers a solution to this, as it harbors the property of being less conductive of heat the hotter it gets. This thus allows graphene to be heated to temperatures that allow for light to be produced (~2500C), while maintaining the structural integrity of itself (due to its inherent strength) and its surroundings.

Furthermore, graphene - being and incredibly thin substance - is effectively clear, meaning that light can travel through it. The researchers found that (due to this) one is able to alter the wavelength of light emitted by the graphene light by changing the distance between the graphene filament and its silicone substrate, as see in the video here.

The advent of this type of light will advance technology because it is both flexible and small, meaning it will be able to be integrated in flexible technologies and displays, as well as on small chips.

The researchers are currently working on methods for turning the bulb on and off, but perhaps there will soon be a day when graphene will revolutionize the technology of displays! 

MRAM: Improved by Nanowires

In all our digital devices, there are two main main places of memory storage, the virtual memory (on the computer's disk) and the Random Access Memory (RAM)

The memory on the disk is what is saved on your computer's permanent memory. The Random Access memory is the memory used up by what you are doing on the computer. A file is on the disk, and the actual unsaved word document you are typing on is in the RAM.

Researchers and companies alike are beginning to look at MRAM for the future of memory. MRAM stands for Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory. Unlike traditional RAM, this type of memory uses magnets, rather than electrical charges to make it work. Researchers have begun to use multilayer nanowires to enhance memory so much that there would be no boot up time for computers, and one would not have to save a document constantly for fear that it would be lost due to a power failure.

It may also let us charge our mobile devices weekly, rather than daily.

As the memory does not run on electricity, it promises a large amount of memory, without consuming power. This technology was originally invented in the 90s, but did not come to widespread use because it was hard to fabricate, and because the memory only last for a year. However, researchers have discovered that by layering 20nm of magnetic nanowires, they are able to harness the speed and energy effeciency of the technology.

Though still in research phases with funding from major companies such as Toshiba and IBM, MRAM shows promise for the future of Random Access Memory.
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