U.K. physics prize lauds discovery that could bring atom-thick computers

The discovery of a type of material that could lead to the development of faster, more powerful,atom-thick computers has earned a Britonone of the country's top physics prizes.

University of ManchesterProf. Andre Geim scooped the 2007 Mott Medal and Prize, awarded by the country's Institute of Physics, for leading a research team whose work in 2004 led to a new category of material known as two-dimensional atomic crystals. The award honours physicists who have made a great contribution to science.

That work made it possible to create a highly stable, flexible, strong and conductive substance called graphene.

Composed of single layer of tightly packed carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb-shaped crystal lattice, graphene is made by splitting graphite into one-atom-thick layers.

The high conductivity and the fact that electrons — negatively charged subatomic particles — travel along the sheet in a manner that mimics the speed of light could lead to the development of molecule-sized computer components.

If that happens, computers made with graphene would be extremely fast since the electrons would have to traverse much shorter distances than they do in present-day computers.

Graphene has already been used by an internationalteam that includedGeim and British, Dutch and Russian scientists to test Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.

Such tests were previously only possible by building highly specialized and expensive machines or by studying stars in galaxies that are far away.