Why has graphene won a Nobel Prize?

Two British-based scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize for physics for their work with graphene - a nano-material that could revolutionise computing and electronics.

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of the University of Manchester isolated the one-atom thick form of carbon six years ago using Scotch tape and pencil lead (otherwise known as graphite, another form of carbon).

Graphene comprises a flat layer of atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional honeycomb arrangement. Layers of carbon can be stacked on top of each other and separated relatively easily.

The material has excited scientists as it is so thin and strong and is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. It is being touted as a replacement for silicon in future generations of computers and other electronic devices.

Transistors made of graphene rather than silicon would be able to run faster and give off less heat, although they could also deal with higher temperatures. That would allow computer scientists to boost power and reduce the size of semiconductors without causing machines to overheat.

As it is so thin and almost transparent the material could also be used in touchscreens and solar panels and could also help develop lightweight cars, planes and even space ships.

The Nobel judges said although many of graphene's applications "exist only in our fantasies" they said that the possibilities were already being tested.

Geim and Novoselov were both born in Russia but now work in Manchester. Geim has become a Dutch citizen but Novoselov has joint British and Russian citizenship.

Their unorthodox approach won praise from the jury who noted their "playful" approach to science - revealed by their use of tape and pencil lead in the discovery of graphene.

Geim, who won an IgNobel prize in 2000 for using magnetism to levitate a frog, said: "When I got the telephone call, I thought, 'oh shit'."

He also distanced himself from those winners who, he said, "after getting the Nobel Prize stop doing anything for the rest of their life". Instead he pledged to return to work and continue his research, despite being entitled to half of the 10m Swedish kronor (around £930,000) award. ·