The long game

摘要

Is it possible for a field of science to move too fast? Perhaps. Those who work on the form of carbon known as graphene have seen it rocket from the next big thing to a miracle material in less time than it can take for a research paper to be accepted and published. Yet although the hunt is on for applications that can exploit graphene's remarkable properties, the work necessary to find out how it could best be harnessed remains incomplete. This is one reason why many scientists who attended a meeting on the subject earlier this month were cautious about raising expectations too high. 'Graphene: The Road to Applications' was held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 11 -13 May, and was hosted by Nature Publishing Group.