Graphite

Traditionally lubed bicycle chains are notoriously dirty to touch, and a hassle to clean. Yours may not have to be either of those for much longer, however, if you spring for the graphite-powder-dispensing CHA.

Could you imagine being able to "feel" the images on your screen? UCSB researchers have made this sci-fi-like idea a reality. They've developed a display where pixels physically rise off the surface when activated by laser light.

Deep-tech startup Sinonus is working to commercialize a groundbreaking new breed of multifunctional carbon fiber. In its vision, the wonder-composite will serve as a structural battery for everything from electric aircraft to windmills.

Magnetic levitation is used to float things like lamps and trains, but usually it requires a power source. Now, scientists in Japan have developed a way to make a floating platform that requires no external power, out of regular old graphite.

Australian scientists have discovered strangely folded diamonds in rare meteorite samples. In investigating how they came to form, the team found evidence that they were forged in a cataclysm on an ancient dwarf planet.

Making every micrometer count is a key consideration for designers and engineers working on modern smartphones, and a new nanometer-thick form of graphite that helps keep electronic devices cool could free up some valuable space.

Graphene is already known for being incredibly strong, so how can it be made even stronger? By turning it into sheets of diamond, of course. Researchers in South Korea have developed a new method to convert graphene into ultrathin diamond films.

Graphene is incredibly thin, flexible, strong and electrically conductive, but it’s tricky to manufacture on large scales. Now researchers at the University of Rochester have recruited bacteria to make the stuff, which is cheaper and faster than current methods and doesn’t require harsh chemicals.

Silicon would be an excellent anode material for lithium-ion batteries, if only it did not have the tendency to make the cell explode with use. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside say they have now found a way to get around the problem.

Changing the very nature of paper itself into conductive graphite creates paper-based circuit boards that are cheap and flexible.

Newly-developed graphite foam is said to make LED lamps last longer by cooling them more effectively than traditional methods.

The Sharpie Liquid Pencil writes like a pen but erases like a pencil.