🥇 First graphene semiconductor solves historic problem, enables next-gen computing

Plus: 🚔 Cybertrucks for cops, satellites to fake eclipse for research                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 January 04, 2024 | [Read Online]( Researchers have now created the first ever functional semiconductor using graphene, the long touted “miracle material.” This breakthrough finally unlocks the electronics applications scientists have awaited for over a decade. By chemically binding graphene sheets into a crystal structure on silicon, Georgia Tech scientists tailored the highly conductive substance into a robust semiconductor able to effectively switch on and off. This discovery solves the intrinsic conductivity challenge that previously blocked graphene transistors and computing devices from emerging. Graphene’s tenfold speed advantage over silicon, heat resilience, and manufacturing compatibility should rapidly improve performance across applications as diverse as quantum computing and everyday mobile devices. Jump to today’s [Must Read]( for more on this critical development for electronics and sensors. 🎙 New podcast [Retrofit AI and automation: the future of construction and mining]( 📺 [Subscribe to IE Originals]( for our weekly pick of the best science, tech, and engineering videos from around the world. Good morning. I’m Tim, newsletter editor at IE. This is the Blueprint. What else is happening today? Reading time: 5 minutes Did a friend forward this e-mail to you? [Subscribe ✉](  VIDEO OF THE DAY Discover the US Navy warship infused with twin towers steel The USS New York, a San Antonio-class warship, symbolizes resilience, strength, and honors 9/11 victims with Twin Towers steel. It's a versatile asset in the US Navy. IE+ SUPPORT INTERESTING ENGINEERING Invest In Science And Engineering Insider access to exclusive content, featuring riveting stories that take you right to the heart of the action. Engage with our thriving online community, dive into captivating science discoveries, and stay informed with our enlightening weekly premium newsletters. With IE+, quality reporting is more than just news - and it is Ad-Free. [Subscribe]( HOT TOPICS - 🪸 [World’s first: Norway tests alien bunker-like subsea floating wind tech]( Innovative Subsea Collector cuts costs by 10 percent on 1 GW floating wind farms. - 🧱 [13-year-old Blue Scuti makes history as first human to beat Tetris]( Until now, only AI had broken the original Tetris. - 📲 [2024 will see Samsung lead the mobile AI wave with the new Galaxy S24]( Over one billion smartphones with built-in AI are to be shipped by 2027, according to Counterpoint Research. - 🏙 [US Atlantic Coast is sinking up to 5 millimeters per year, claims study]( Over 50 percent of infrastructure in major cities like New York, Baltimore, and Norfolk are exposed to the same subsidence rates. MUST READ 📳 [Researchers develop first-ever functional graphene semiconductor]( By growing flawless single layers of graphene on silicon carbide crystal, the Georgia Tech researchers achieved the long sought-after goal of a graphene semiconductor. Previously the material lacked an essential "band gap" property that enables effective on/off switching vital for transistors and integrated logic components. Through meticulous specialized furnace-growth techniques combined with doping, the team not only induced a modulation band gap, but demonstrated ten times faster mobility than silicon equivalents. This combination of semiconductor functionality with superior speed cements graphene's status as a formidable challenger for next generation processors and devices. The researchers emphasize that graphene boasts critical manufacturing compatibility with existing silicon fabrication pipelines as opposed to alternatives like germanium or gallium arsenide compounds. This adaptability makes widescale adoption more commercially practical. Beyond sheer computing speed, graphene's heat dissipation capacities vastly exceed silicon and other materials, unlocking applications from intense medical lasers to durable aerospace sensors where heat buildup presently hinders performance. [Read more >]( [SCIENCE]( 🛰 [Twin satellites to create fake eclipse to reveal Sun’s corona mysteries]( The European Space Agency readies 2024’s Proba-3 launch, featuring a duo of satellites that will precisely align to mimic the moon eclipsing the Sun. With one spacecraft positioned to obscure intense surface radiation, the 90-minute artificial eclipses will expose the Sun’s corona magnetism and mass ejections that drive space weather. Learn how this precise choreography aims to provide new insights about our star. [Read more >]( [CULTURE]( 🚔 [Cybertruck: The future of police vehicles? Elon Musk agrees]( A police department in Texas recently floated replacing its aging vehicles with Tesla’s futuristic Cybertruck electric pickup. Citing advantages like armor-grade steel, sub-three-second acceleration and intimidating looks, the outlandish transport could be ideal for high-speed pursuits. But critics argue that its short range, potential battery fires and costly repairs weigh against its crime-fighting practicality. [Read more >]( Question of the Day Do you agree that the Cybertruck would make a great police patrol vehicle? [Yes, the perfect solution]( [Maybe, but they are too scarce and expensive]( [No, a crazy, impractical idea]( [The taxpayer should decide]( YESTERDAY'S RESULTS Yesterday, we asked about your expectations for the big product news from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Here are the results. 🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ AI-powered home appliances (25%) 🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ New and better electric vehicles (15%) 🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ Functional wearable technology (27%) 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I don't know what to expect (33%) “We now have an extremely robust graphene semiconductor with 10 times the mobility of silicon, and which also has unique properties not available in silicon.” Walter de Heer, Regents' Professor of Physics at Georgia Tech THINGS WE LOVE [[Laptop And Monitor Mount] Laptop And Monitor Mount $54.99]( [[Wall Control Office Organizer] Wall Control Office Organizer $185.94]( [[Elgato Stream Deck] Elgato Stream Deck $80.14]( [[Turtle Beach Xbox Controller] Turtle Beach Xbox Controller $199.99]( AND ANOTHER THING - IE+ [The 100-year-old renewable energy source you’ve probably never heard of]( - [Human brains are way better at complex thinking than mouse brains]( - [Shield AI's alien ship-like surveillance drones get a half-billion funding boost]( - [UK police for the first time investigate sexual assault in metaverse]( Need help with advertising? 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