Paper thin computers and televisions are presently under development based on this miracle substance.

Indeed South Korean researchers have created a 25inch flexible touch-screen usin raphene. !omorro" your daily ne"spaper may be made of it too# "hich may be instantly updated by pressin a tab on the side. $arold $ Kun at the %c&ormic' School of (n ineerin and )pplied Science at *orth"estern +niversity has reported a method to extend the battery life of lithium ion batteries by ,- times usin a rapheme-based anode. ) considerable effort is bein directed at developin better batteries and other ener y stora e systems. (xistin batteries often fail because of the dama e caused to the electrodes in them over a period of time by the movement of ions. ) ne" electrode .made from nano-particles of copper hexacyanoferrate/ has been developed by Stanford researchers and uses nanotechnolo y to construct an open structure for the electrode. !his permits ions to move in and out "ithout dama in it. !he electrode seems to be a "onder material for use as a hi h-volta e cathode. *ovel "ays are also bein developed to utilise "ind ener y. In many parts of the "orld "e find lar e "indmills# each "ith three hu e blades eneratin electricity. !hese "ind turbines are not very efficient since about half the air does not o throu h the blades but around them# "ith a resultin loss in their capacity to enerate electricity. 0lo1esi n# a +S based company# has no" developed a ne" eneration of "ind turbines that rely on the desi n used in 2et en ines. !hese turbines have propeller blades that are much smaller but produce more electricity as the air is directed throu h the turbine by a surroundin shroud. Small turbines that "ill produce ,- 'ilo"att po"er "ill be initially manufactured and they "ill then be follo"ed by me a"att capacity turbines. ) problem associated "ith micro "ind turbines is that they must "or' "ell in both li ht and hi h "inds# for instance under stormy conditions "hen they should not spin too fast. In the case of the lar er "ind turbines# the desi n of the blades ta'es care of this problem# ma'in them stall under very hi h speed "ind. !his is done throu h sensors that send si nals to attached computers "hich in turn ad2ust the turbine speeds. !his is too expensive a solution. $o"ever# nature is often the best teacher. !he stability of dra onflies even under hi h "ind conditions provided critically important clues. !he dra onfly is very stable in its fli ht# even under hi h "ind speeds. !his is due to the special desi n of its "in s "hich are thin and flexible# and have small protrusions on their surfaces. !hese protrusions create a number of s"irlin vortices that contribute to the extraordinary aerodynamic stability of the dra onfly. 3ased on this# the )'ira 4bata of *ippon 3unri +niversity in 5apan has invented a micro turbine "hich is far better than those available previously. Pa'istan needs to concentrate on solvin its ener y problems by utilisin its existin resources of coal# "ater# "ind# and the recently discovered shale oil and shale as.

) reader has ri htly pointed out that all the electrical appliances produced in Pa'istan are ener y inefficient. 0or example our fans# tube-"ell motors and roadside "or'shop machines use heavy startin current and also consume much more electricity than )merican# (uropean# or even &hinese appliances. 6hen one considers the millions of fans# tube-"ell motors and road side "or'shop motors in the country# one ets some idea of ho" much ener y is bein "asted because of the improper enforcement of 7uality standards# particularly those relatin to ener y efficiency# in those industries that manufacture such motors and appliances. Similarly most of our vehicles# especially locally manufactured bodies of truc's and buses# are ener y inefficient. &oncluded !he "riter is the president of the Pa'istan )cademy of Sciences and former chairman of the $(&. (mail8 ibne9sina:hotmail.com