Guess Who Controls 80% Of The World's Next Wonder Material

Business Insider ^ | 07/12/2011 | The Daily Reckoning

[SeekAndFind]

Cheap solar panels. The most powerful transistors ever. Even the ability to make a fighter jet invisible.

Each of these breakthroughs has been announced in the last two weeks. Each relies on one of the most basic elements mined from the earth. And each could line your pockets with cash if you move quickly enough.

They all involve a wonder substance called graphene. It’s made from graphite – the same stuff you find in the center of a pencil. Except graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms.

Let’s hopscotch through these new developments…

Researchers in India have discovered how to build solar panels using graphene – a development that could finally make widespread solar energy economical.

Graphene solar panels have several advantages over silicon solar panels – starting with a better ability to absorb light. The problem is that up to now, they’ve been a lot more expensive – because the graphene requires other materials to move the electrons around just right.

The Indian scientists put two and two together. They realized that you can also build solar panels using “quantum dots” – microscopic quantities of particles like cadmium or lead. The problem with that is that cadmium and lead are highly toxic.

So…they wondered…what if they built “graphene quantum dots”?

SNIP

“China controls 80% of the global graphite market – just like China runs 97% of the world supply of rare earths. But the Chinese are running low on graphite reserves – same story as with rare earths.”

Byron’s hot on the case of a tiny company that’s sitting on a massive graphite reserve in the Canadian wilderness – 8 million tons. It can pull graphite from the ground for a cost of $400 per ton and sell it for $2,000. That’s $12.8 billion of potential

[EternalVigilance]

Stay away from me.

[bvw]

Just seemed to fit, somehow. No other comment one way or the other.

[EternalVigilance]

Whatever.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks SeekAndFind.

Researchers in India have discovered how to build solar panels using graphene -- a development that could finally make widespread solar energy economical.

Number one, graphene is carbon, it's not controlled by any nation, and number two, photovoltaic electrical generation will never make up much of a fraction of the world's entire electrical generation.

Decimon -- the graphene keyword is pretty impressive, don't ya think? :')

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[decimon]

I thought of pinging you to this, given your expressed insatiability for the topic.

Ooh, here’s another: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-korean-graphene-transparent-loudspeakers.html

[SunkenCiv]

I wish someone would use graphene to improve the jewel box.

[LibWhacker]

this is an opportunity you don’t want to pass up. You can get the name, ticker symbol and a massively discounted membership in Byron’s premium advisory Energy & Scarcity Investor 00 but only for a few more hours. The offer expires tonight at midnight.

Aww, nuts. Missed it by two minutes.

[Condor51]

(hanks for the (((((Ping)))))

My wife laughed because I saved all my old Drafting Pencils and Graphite Leads I'll show her now :-)

btw I haven't forgotten about that Pyramid - concrete/granite block Thread from Monday. I'm looking for an old reference book (I throw NOTHING away re: engineering.)

[SunkenCiv]

houdin great pyramid site:freerepublic.com

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