{"id":79330,"date":"2021-08-14T16:34:01","date_gmt":"2021-08-14T20:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=79330"},"modified":"2021-08-14T16:34:55","modified_gmt":"2021-08-14T20:34:55","slug":"edible-graphene-is-here-and-electronics-in-your-food-are-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=79330","title":{"rendered":"Edible Graphene Is Here, And Electronics In Your Food Are Coming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using a stock laser, researchers can carve edible circuits into food. Prepare for cuisine that can communicate.<\/h3>\n

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[Photo: Jeff Fitlow\/Rice University]<\/p><\/div>It\u2019s the world\u2019s only man-made 2D material, and physicists believe it could change the way we live. Graphene, a line of carbon that\u2019s a mere atom thick, is several times stronger than steel and 100 times more conductive than copper. But this wonder material has yet to find a breakout application. As\u00a0the New Yorker<\/em> put it in 2014<\/a>, \u201cGraphene may be the most remarkable substance ever discovered. But what is it for?\u201d<\/div>\n

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Now, we might know. Rice University researchers<\/a> have successfully used a commercial laser to transform the surface carbon in foods\u2013like toast, coconuts shells, potatoes, and Girl Scout cookies\u2013into graphene. Without using any special vacuums or clean rooms, graphene can be patterned into an impossibly thin, edible circuit\u2013including fuel cells to store power, radio hardware to transmit data, glowing elements to light up, and even all sorts of sensors, too. These circuits resemble a dark, inky tattoo, a bit like very burnt toast.<\/p>\n

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[Photo: Jeff Fitlow\/Rice University]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cVery often, we don\u2019t see the advantage of something until we make it available,\u201d said the lab\u2019s lead James Tour in a press release. \u201cPerhaps all food will have a tiny RFID tag that gives you information about where it\u2019s been, how long it\u2019s been stored, its country and city of origin, and the path it took to get to your table.\u201dHe goes onto speculate further, too, pointing out that E. coli sensors could be designed to spot if your food was contaminated\u2013and a circuit might glow a warning light in response. If these components were graphene-based, they\u2019d all be edible. In such a future, food wouldn\u2019t just be more trackable. It could actually contain its own warnings. Given that tracking foodborne illnesses is remarkably difficult within the expansive global supply chain, it\u2019s a promising solution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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