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Beware of new material claims - the case of graphene

Given that graphene is quite the in vogue material for audio applications I wonder how many (if any) of the vendors selling this are actually sourcing the real thing?

http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2018/10/11/graphene-you-dont-get-what-you-pay-for
128x128folkfreak
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
Still, no one is proving the stuff being marketed is actually WHAT IT IS CLAIMED TO BE. Anyone can buy some garbage labeled ’graphene’ and call it graphene, even though it is useless junk.
IMO that is what the op is writing about. Anyone can claim anything about what they are selling. Since nobody is checking what the stuff really IS.
And that is the point the op is pointing out.Sure someone can point out some company making ’something’. Can anyone prove what they just bought really is as claimed? hardly. "Well gee, they said it was graphene".
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
Yeah, right. It’s all a scam, a global conspiracy of monsterous proportions designed and choreographed to lure the naive gullible newbie into the tender tweak trap and squeeze him dry. 😛 What’s next? Artificial atoms? Messages from Mars? Quantum teleportation?
guidocorona
4,114 posts
 

Hello Geoff, the problem of using graphene as a material for uber-strong composits is -- at least for the moment -- the ubercost and low feasibility of creating long fibers in bulk/industrial quantities.... Typically, structural composites are formed by long strands of carbon fiber woven into cloth, soaked into uncured epoxy, transported and manipulated at about -50C, then shaped and layered, and finally cured to solidity inside autoclaves. One of the keys is "long fibers"... And that is one of the problems with current bulk manufacturing of graphene.... It's easy/cheap to create solutions containing self-standing micro-sheets.... But self-standing long fibers are a different matter all together. Th other problem of graphene is that while it has very desirable tensil strength, it has poor bending/torsion characteristics.... This might preclude its usage in many wiring applications, in spite it having electric resistivity less than Silver.


Perhaps at some point it might be feasible to coat conducting lines on boards and circuit components with a monoatomic layers of graphene... But there is no guarantee that the audible result would be desirable.


Rather, if the construction of graphene-based composites were feasible, it would be interesting to try them for components where rigidity and low mass can have a positive impact... E.g. speaker diaphragms, tone arms, etc...

 

G.

   


 



geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
I already pointed out Graphene in constructing stronger and stiffer materials is not (rpt not) anything new. Djokovic has been using Head Graphene tennis racquets for some years. Graphene tennis racquets were introduced about six years ago. I have noticed at least one brand of high end bicycle racing tires are now available that employ Graphene for strength (puncture resistance). And that high end bike frames may already contain Graphene. You know, for strength and weight saving. I already mentioned tonearms, plinth, speaker cabinets, iso platforms as audio applications and some mentioned the other day somebody is experimenting with Graphene for tweeter diaphragms. The industry is slow to react. Very slow! So, my advice is hop on board the Graphene train. 🚂 Toot! Toot!
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