CNN News: 无限的可能性

Imagine a world where your smartphone touchscreen never breaks, instead it bends, and the antenna inside, so fast it can transfer a terabit of data in a second, and the battery so powerful, it can fly an airplane.

想象这样一个世界，智能手机的触摸屏从来不会破碎，相反它可以弯曲，同时，内置天线，传输速度之快，秒钟之间就可以传输一比特信息，电力强劲，可以用于驾驶飞机。

What if I told you there was one substance that can make all of this possible?

如果我告诉你，有一种物质能让所有的一切变成现实?

This is graphene, the miracle material of the future. Scientists say it`s the thinnest, lightest and strongest stable material known on earth.

这种物质就是石墨烯，这种未来神奇的物质。科学家称该物质是目前为止人类知道的地球上最薄、最轻、最坚韧稳定的物质。

It`s so strong it`s up to 200 times stronger than steel and harder than diamond. It`s so light that if you had a sheet of graphene the size of a football field, you could hold it between your thumb and finger and it wouldn`t bend or break. And it`s so thin it`s just one atom thick.

该种物质非常的强韧，其坚韧度比钢铁强200倍，硬度比金刚石硬200倍。石墨烯的延展性非常的好，一块石墨烯可以延展出足球场的大小，同时你可以将其夹在拇指间，而不会弯曲和破碎。同时石墨烯的薄度仅有一个原子的厚度。

That`s right. Graphene is the world`s first two-dimensional material. How was it even possible? For decades, scientists weren`t even sure that it was until 2004 when physicists examined a piece of scotch tape used to peel off thin layers of carbon from a slab of graphite. What they discovered was graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern which gave the material extraordinary properties.

对的，石墨烯是世界上首个二位材料。怎么会这样呢?几十年以来，科学家们并不确定直到2004年，物理学家研究了一块透明胶带用于剥离薄层的碳石墨板。科学家们发现的就是石墨烯，一种单层碳原子以蜂窝的模式排列，该种结构让石墨烯具有了特殊的性质。

It`s transparent but it can absorb light. It`s elastic, and pliable but also impermeable to all gases and liquids except for water. And it`s the world`s best conductor of heat and electricity.

石墨烯是透明的，但是却能吸收光线。其柔软具有弹性，但却不能渗透除了水以外其他液体和气体。石墨烯是世界上最好的热电导体。

This could lead to faster computer chips, longer lasting batteries, wearable solar panels. Imagine, battery powered electric airplanes, cancer detecting nano-sensors, unlimited supplies of cheap desalinated ocean water. The possibilities are limitless.

该种物质能让电脑芯片运转速度更快，电池蓄电时间更长，太阳能极板更耐用。想象一下，用电池为电动飞机、癌症检测纳米传感器、海水淡化设备提供电能。可能性是无限的。

So, what`s stopping us? A flake of graphene just a micrometer thick can cost over $1,000 to make using the scotch tape method, making it possibly the most expensive manmade material on earth.

但是什么在阻止我们呢?片状的石墨烯仅仅有一微米厚，却要耗资1000度美元通过制作透明胶带的方法获得。是世界上价钱最昂贵的人工制作材料。

Another problem? Regular graphene lacks what`s called a "band gap", the property that allows it to function as a switch. You want your devices to turn on and off. It will likely take a large company with deep pockets to solve these problems.

另外一个问题?常规的石墨烯缺乏所谓的“带隙”，该性质可以让其功能类似于开关。你想要自己的设备开关。这可能需要资金雄厚的公司才能解决这些问题。

Until then, graphene`s applications are limited to things like tennis racquets, skis and light bulbs, not exactly game-changing. But it`s only been about a decade since graphene was discovered. Since then, labs and companies have put billions into research in a race to unlock graphene`s limitless potential.

直到现在，在不完全改变石墨烯的性质下，其应用仅限于网球拍，滑雪板和灯泡，但是这距离发现石墨烯仅有十年。之后，实验室和公司们已经投入数十亿竞相研究石墨烯无限潜力。

Only time will tell if the miracle material of the future ever arrives.

只有时间能告诉我们这个神奇材料的未来是否会来临。