The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 was awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene." Graphene is a cool two-dimensional form of graphite, and it's an great playground for both experimentalists and theorists. However, this discovery goes more along the lines of advanced engineering applications. It seems that the days of truly new fundamental Physics are close to be over.
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cpw1952October 08, 2010
I've heard of this stuff. I seem to recall something about a single molecular layer (in effect, a two dimensional structure) sliding on top of another layer. In other words it could be used as a lubricant. My memory could be completely wrong, of course.
tunguzOctober 08, 2010
Yes, it is a monoatomic layer of carbon. Essentially a single layer of graphite. As it often happens in Physics, when you go from three to two dimensions all sorts of new and interesting things start to happen.