There is a lot of talk about graphene and the roll it will play in the future of electronics and this week I wanted to talk about how this will effect electrical contacts and the potential benefits and downsides to this new material.
As many of you know the best electrical contacts are typically gold plated take a look at your iphone charging cable you’ll see the gold plating. Typically gold is not the main metal it’s normally a very thin layer over a base metal such as copper and nickel. Gold does not corrode, enhances the electrical connectivity and durability of the contacts however, it’s expensive and ultimately limited as the earth will only produce so much gold before it runs out.
The search has been on for a number of ears for a reliable replacement and it is looking very likely that graphene will be the future of electrical high conductivity connections.
Graphene is one of the most strongest substances on the planet and has amazing electrical properties however, up to now the technology to make this more widespread has been limited but that is all about to change.
Here are the main benefits of graphene:
- Super Conductivity
- Incredibly Lightweight
- Massive electrical storage properties
- Long lasting.
A good example of the use of graphene is the ability to charge a mobile in seconds enabling electrical vehicles to charge in just a few minutes. Enabling wearable electronics to become a real possibility.
The down side is the high cost of production and we have to work out how to enable the manufacture of graphene products to become acceptably priced to the general consumer.
These are indeed exciting times and for a quick overview there is a great video here:
And for the engineers amongst us here is a more in-depth video with all the technical details you ever wanted!
