Characterization of graphene continues to reveal unusual
properties that recommend it as a material for nanotech
applications. Add to graphene’s record-breaking strength the
discovery that graphene beams are unexpectedly stiff. From
nanotechweb.org, written by Belle Dumé (requires free
registration) “Graphene flakes stiffen up“: Researchers have
succeeded in making large sheets of graphene that measure up to
0.1 mm across and have found that the material is
extraordinarily rigid, being able to support a thousand times
its own weight. This means that the material could be
incorporated into different technologies, such as
micromechanical systems, and is ideal for use in electron
microscopy. Until recently, scientists thought that graphene — a
one-atom thick material — was weak and flexible and would
spontaneously roll or fold up into nanotube-like structures. Tim
Booth and Peter Blake of Manchester University in the UK and
colleagues have now shown that suspended graphene sheets can
easily support their own wei