Graphene, which consists of a one-atom-thick layer of carbon, was first isolated in 2004. As John Colapinto reports in the magazine this week, the material—the thinnest and strongest thus far discovered—supposedly has “a wide array of applications: ultra-long-life batteries, bendable computer screens, desalinization of water, improved solar cells, superfast microcomputers.” As a result, it has become another in a long line of “wonder” materials.
In this video, Colapinto traces the history of other heralded materials and the impact that they did or didn’t have on our world.
