UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, CA, USA. Researchers created the world’s first pair of graphene-based earphones. Graphene earphones can totally revolutionize the audio/speaker industry. The material is exceptionally light and strong.
Qin Zhou and Alex Zettl from the University of California, Berkeley capitalized on the unique and amazing properties of graphene. They found out that in the graphene’s raw state alone it has outstanding electrical and physical properties that provide a frequency that is similar if not better that a pair of Sennheiser earphones.
A typical earphone or loudspeaker functions by vibrating a paper diaphragm/cone, thus, creating pressure waves in the air around you. Different sounds are created depending on the waves’ frequencies. The researchers made a graphene diaphragm that is 7mm wide and 30nn thick. This makes the graphene diaphragm remarkably light and thin. The thin sheet is sandwiched between 2 silicon dioxide electrodes that allowed it to be driven to produce sound.
Graphene is incredibly light and strong. In fact, it is 100 times stronger than steel. The usual diaphragms need to be dampened so they tear themselves. If this occurs, the audio fidelity is immensely affected. The amazing properties of graphene can surely compete with high-end earphones. Graphene earphones can pump out beats without any tweaking involved. Further adjustments to the diaphragm’s size, dimension and other parameters can lead to unimaginable audio clarity.
| Invention | Graphene-based Earphones |
|---|---|
| Organization | University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA |
| Researcher | Qin Zhou and Alex Zettl |
| Field(s) | Hardware, Science, Gadgets, Graphene, Audio, Music, Speakers, Sound, Materials Science, Nanotechnology |
| Further Information | EXTREMETECH |
