It is tougher than diamond and yet stretches like rubber.

It is about 200 times stronger than steel and about 150 times thinner than a human hair. It is so strong that you could suspend an elephant on a thin strand of this material and it would not break! It consists of a single layer of carbon atoms one atom thick in a honeycomb lattice structure. Andre eim and !onstantin "o#oselo# at the $ni#ersity of %anchester were awarded the "obel &ri'e in &hysics in 2010 (for groundbreaking e)periments regarding the two* dimensional material graphene+. "ormally silicon is used in the manufacture of commercial solar cells. It now turns out that graphene could pro#e far more efficient in transforming light into energy. ,his was established in a study carried out at the Institute of &hotonic -ciences .I/012 in -pain which found that solar cells made with graphene could offer up to 30 percent solar cell efficiency this is about four times the efficiency of the present commercially a#ailable solar cells. raphene turns out also to be an e)cellent conductor of electricity4 e#en better than copper. ,his is leading to the de#elopment of many applications in the electronics industry. &aper thin computers and tele#isions are presently under de#elopment based on this 5miracle substance6. Indeed -outh !orean researchers ha#e created a 25inch fle)ible touch*screen using graphene. ,omorrow your daily newspaper may be made of it too4 which may be instantly updated by pressing a tab on the side. 7arold 7 !ung at the %c/ormick -chool of 8ngineering and Applied -cience at "orthwestern $ni#ersity has reported a method to e)tend the battery life of lithium ion batteries by 10 times using a grapheme*based anode. A considerable effort is being directed at de#eloping better batteries and other energy storage systems. 8)isting batteries often fail because of the damage caused to the electrodes in them o#er a period of time by the mo#ement of ions. A new electrode .made from nano*particles of copper he)acyanoferrate2 has been de#eloped by -tanford researchers and uses nanotechnology to construct an open structure for the electrode. ,his permits ions to mo#e in and out without damaging it. ,he electrode seems to be a wonder material for use as a high*#oltage cathode. "o#el ways are also being de#eloped to utilise wind energy. In many parts of the world we find large windmills4 each with three huge blades generating electricity. ,hese wind turbines are not #ery efficient since about half the air does not go through the blades but around them4 with a resulting loss in their capacity to generate electricity. 0lo9esign4 a $- based company4 has now de#eloped a new generation of wind turbines that rely on the design used in :et engines. ,hese turbines ha#e propeller blades that are much smaller but produce more electricity as the air is directed through the turbine by a surrounding shroud. -mall turbines that will produce 10 kilowatt power will be initially manufactured and they will then be followed by megawatt capacity turbines. A problem associated with micro wind turbines is that they must work well in both light and high winds4 for instance under stormy conditions when they should not spin too fast.

In the case of the larger wind turbines4 the design of the blades takes care of this problem4 making them stall under #ery high speed wind. ,his is done through sensors that send signals to attached computers which in turn ad:ust the turbine speeds. ,his is too e)pensi#e a solution. 7owe#er4 nature is often the best teacher. ,he stability of dragonflies e#en under high wind conditions pro#ided critically important clues. ,he dragonfly is #ery stable in its flight4 e#en under high wind speeds. ,his is due to the special design of its wings which are thin and fle)ible4 and ha#e small protrusions on their surfaces. ,hese protrusions create a number of swirling #ortices that contribute to the e)traordinary aerodynamic stability of the dragonfly. ;ased on this4 the Akira 1bata of "ippon ;unri $ni#ersity in <apan has in#ented a micro turbine which is far better than those a#ailable pre#iously. &akistan needs to concentrate on sol#ing its energy problems by utilising its e)isting resources of coal4 water4 wind4 and the recently disco#ered shale oil and shale gas. A reader has rightly pointed out that all the electrical appliances produced in &akistan are 5energy inefficient6. 0or e)ample our fans4 tube*well motors and roadside workshop machines use hea#y starting current and also consume much more electricity than American4 8uropean4 or e#en /hinese appliances. =hen one considers the millions of fans4 tube*well motors and road side workshop motors in the country4 one gets some idea of how much energy is being wasted because of the improper enforcement of >uality standards4 particularly those relating to energy efficiency4 in those industries that manufacture such motors and appliances. -imilarly most of our #ehicles4 especially locally manufactured bodies of trucks and buses4 are energy inefficient. /oncluded ,he writer is the president of the &akistan Academy of -ciences and former chairman of the 78/. 8mail? ibne@sinaAhotmail.com