Learning without a brain

Originally posted by Palynka
Interesting stuff:
http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jan/071

That is interesting.
What is also interesting is some of the other links this one has connections to. I particularly like this one:

http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jan/051

“…Physicists Build the World’s Smallest Transistor
The tiny device measures an astonishing 10 atoms by 1 atom.
…
…
the minute device was fashioned from graphene, …
…
“If you hold a sheet of graphene, you won’t be able to see it,”
….
“It has perfect crystallized structure, but it is only one atom thick. This is the thinnest possible material in the world.”
…
…
Larger graphene transistors have already been shown to perform 10 times as quickly as conventional silicon transistors in the lab, although scaling that capability up to mass production may be difficult. Graphene, which is both transparent and conductive, could also be used for making liquid crystal displays. Other researchers are investigating ways to put graphene to work in solar cells.
…”


-but this bit above where it says graphene is transparent confuses me a bit -isn’t graphite made of graphene? graphite isn’t transparent! I suppose having lots of graphene sheets stacked up on top of each other changes their optical properties? But how? -I would like to have better understanding of that. -how many would have to be stacked up on top of each other before they loose transparency and why?