Аndrei Geim - From graphene, temporarily not making money (P1)

10 years after receiving the award IgNobel, Andrei Geim was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2010. And for the first time the physicist confided his experiences on the way to the Nobel Prize.

>>>Аndrei Geim - From graphene, temporarily not making money (P2)

The most prestigious award in the world - Nobel Prize - this year awarded to two physicists born, studying and starting a business in their own homeland is Russia. But why did their invention not work in Russia? In this regard, Director of the University of Manchester Center for Mesoscopic Physics and Nanotechnology (Center for Mesoscopic Physics and Nanotechnology) talks to reporter Izvestia .

Andrei Geim, scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. (Photo: Internet).

Izvestia : Аndrei, when agreeing on this interview, did you say that he 'is learning how to live with the Nobel Prize'. Why do you have to study, sir?

Andrei Geim: Before I believed I was a prize, I was a stylist who the British said was the " twenty four seven " of science (ie 24 hours / 7 days). But now, every day, try to find a bit of ' redundancy ' to do something else. Answer you for example. Invitation to meetings, conferences, talks, meetings . to butterfly. Everyone recognizes as his friend. What is ' very important '. The sewing is also easy to adjust.

But what's more complicated?

Our society has just wanted bread and wants to see the show, so the science has been going on stage for three decades. So much explanation is needed not only for ordinary people but also for leaders, self-proclaimed great, untouched and well-known. When you interact with them, you will understand that they know nothing about science, especially in other areas where they do not have experts. Regarding the Nobel Prize they try to make an impression, that their opinion is a directive, thanks to it, that succeeds. So I don't want to limit my judgments.

Have you ever thought in your mind that you would deny the great Landau itself? I have read that Landau once affirmed: in principle, there cannot be a single atomic carbon layer, because it is against the laws of physics.

This story even some of my colleagues think so. Landau and all other scientists think that it is impossible to develop such two-dimensional materials. This means that the development of two-dimensional and unidirectional carbon layers needs to be carried out at high temperatures and high temperatures, according to Landau, the high temperature itself makes such development impossible. We came up with an idea that, if it weren't possible to develop such layers in the free state, it could ' feed ' it like a three-dimensional system, which is graphite.

When graphite has been grown at a temperature much lower than the melting point, the durability of this material has no problem. In short, we have found a new way to create a three-dimensional system and from this three-dimensional system, into a single atomic plane. Simple as that. I don't know what it is to translate the Russian ' bottom-up ' and ' bottom-down ' methods, just knowing there is no 'bottom-up', then 'bottom-down' will work. (You mean two ways to solve a technology problem, 'bottom up' and 'top down' - ND)

Which means that when he started to study, he did not wonder if he "had to" deny his predecessors?

If you have rushed to work, you will not have time to think about the teachings of your predecessors. The problem is: in any field there are things no one has ever done. Every other time condition: there are more modern devices, there are ways to look at a new phenomenon. So, is it possible to bring into the field where we pursue a newer contribution. The idea is simple. I will present this in Nobel lecture, read during the award ceremony. When I took the lead of a graduate student, I told him: There is a field of view, which is quite interesting - it's carbon nanotubes. But we're not going to go into it, but let's try making graphite as thick as these nanotubes. Not hundreds of classes but only dozens of classes, even thinner. At that time there was no remarkable work for creating thin graphite layers. And that problem has become the starting point of a scientific discipline.

And then?

We then created increasingly thin stretchers, but did not reach the thickness of an atom. Maybe at that time because I had not found the one-class principle. I just thought that because the research system was bad and we could put something new in there to compete with nanotubes.

That approach was successful. And did he later use it as a universal tool to find new directions.

Is not. In fact, graphene is the last step (Geim reads 'graphene' as 'graphin', which is English accent, and the Russians find it very funny - PV). In 1987 I completed the PhD thesis. The topic is ' Researching ultra-pure metal by means of vortex ' - the work is boring, the volume is very large. I decided not to use the 'dead' equipment 20 years ago and try to find new experimental systems to study.

That way has results and works that are recognized. In fact, I had to work at four different research institutions: in Russia, in Copenhagen, in Bath and in Nottingham. Of course, every time I transfer from one university to another, I have access to a new technique, new working conditions, acquiring new research directions and learning a lot. And I myself tried to find my own unique ' wild land '. I published in the most prestigious journals of articles on the subject of 'Microcopic semiconductivity'.

Аndrei Geim and Konstantin Novoselov shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010.

At that time, integrating potential knowledge and rich methodology, I longed to experiment with new things. I think an ideology for myself: free time to be freed from work will have to take advantage of to try 5-10 things. Occasionally, I assign students who are doing graduation thesis to help with certain experiments. One of the experiments that people have known is the floating phenomenon (levitation).

Ah, I remember it. It was his famous experiment about a frog hovering in a magnetic field that the whole world knew about.

I started by studying water placed in very strong magnetic fields. But when I saw floating water flying up, people didn't believe it and I understood: it was necessary to snap their nose and tell them that not only water but also anything else would be able to fly, including themselves. they. Yet people told me crazy and gave me the IgNobel prize. I still happily accepted.

Indeed it is a completely fictional story. From the high school program we were taught that magnetic fields impacted some metals, water, frogs, dead grasshoppers and other things that could be suspended in space would be .

This phenomenon has been mentioned for 150 years ago and is called antimagnetic phenomenon (diamagnetism). All things have magnetic resistance to a stone, plastic, creature, and gas. Everything is the same and does not need to have a special property. In fact, only metals and magnets are unique substances in the magnetic field and all are anti-magnetic substances. We have demonstrated this clearly.

(There's more)