Flip book

For my flip book I tried a few different ideas. I tried to keep it fun and engaging with different topics. The first is to show the growth of a flower. Done in a different un natural way. The second is a smily face turning into the planet earth. This had no meaning, the progression just fit.  Then there is a man who removes his head, like the tip of a hat. Followed by typography saying "what the hell?" as to ask what had proceeded it. Then to finish is typography that morphs into a crude human face. Again, I was just trying to have fun with the project.

https://youtu.be/GwGWpXqsO_g

I had to do this link because the file was too big.

Graphene is the feature!!!

David MacDonald

B. Roundtree

Art and Tech

21st Century Technology 

Graphene

We live in a world where electronic technologies become more advanced as each year passes. This demand for innovation comes with its downfalls. A common trend in electronic technologies is downsizing. Processing power relies on being able to build on a microscopic level. One newly rediscovered material called Graphene shows the most promise moving forward. But, if you had never heard of Graphene it would be hard to imagine its potential. Graphene is a derivative of Graphite, which is entirely made up of Carbon atoms. If you ask, “Hey Isn’t Graphite what pencil lead is made of?” you would be correct. Graphene is the end result of breaking down Graphite until it is literally one atom thick. Yes, one atom thick, this allows for a circuit to move across it with almost no resistance. This means electronic information can move almost at the speed of light. All this again at the size level of an atom.

Graphene was first observed in 1962 under an electron microscope. At the time researchers didn’t realize the true potential of Graphene. Because of this Graphene wasn’t ever utilized until 2004. That is when two researchers from The University of Manchester rediscovered Graphene. Now in a greater age of electronic technology, the two researchers Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoslov were able to use Graphene to a new extent. They discovered Graphene's ability to move electrons at almost the speed of light. This discovery won the two The Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010.

  As of now Graphene technologies are limited. Part of the problem is it has not yet been possible to produce Graphene on a large enough scale to be viable. “Graphene-based membranes have mostly been made in small batches in the laboratory, where researchers can carefully control the material’s growth conditions. However, Hart and his colleagues believe that if graphene membranes are ever to be used commercially they will have to be produced in large quantities, at high rates, and with reliable performance.” (Chu 2018) Researchers at MIT have been working with a new process of creating Graphene on a larger scale. “MIT engineers have developed a continuous manufacturing process that produces long strips of high-quality graphene.” (Chu 2018) Once Graphene can be made in a more commercially viable way, technologies using Graphene will be on the market.

Not only will Graphene allow computer processors to be faster, but also smaller. Until now, computer processors are mostly made of another element called Silicon. The same element that makes up most sand. Silicon has basically hit the ceiling on how small processors are able to be produced. This need for new materials for producing computer processors will lead to the rise of Graphene. Because the want for faster processing power will not go away, Graphene offers new opportunities. Graphene is the feature for smaller technologies. Smaller technologies that are the fastest we have ever seen. We as the consumer will only see our technologies become almost limitless.

Work Cited 

Chu, Jennifer, A Graphene Rollout, news.MIT.edu, 17 April, 2018