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
folkfreak

eYes, a mono atomic layer of graphene is stronger than a monoatomic layer of Iron doped with carbon... And so is a thread of a spiderweb.... However, we go through spiderwebs without ever feeling them.


Besides, how does this superior tensil strength matter in the audible performance of an audio cable? particularly when the form of graphene used is a powder or solution of micro/nano sheets?


G.


 

You’re not following. I mentioned physical and electrical properties of Graphene. That’s why Graphene is being used in high end bike tires, tennis racquets, perhaps high end bike frames, I.e., tensile strength and lightness, as well as electrical contact enhancers and high end audio cables, I.e., superior conductivity and EMI/RFI shielding. In other words, it’s a product crying out 😪for applications. I will say, audiophiles seem to understand the implications better than many other industries. The way to build up tensile strength in applications would be to apply Graphene layers, each separated by some thin physical layer of some other material, thus maintaining the functionality and viability of the single layers of Graphene.
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".
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?

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.