Update: Researchers pencil in graphene transistors

Graphene, found in pencil marks, is a candidate material for making future transistors. It's extracted from graphite crystals using sticky tape. Graphene's weird electrical properties allow for smallest transistor yet. Silicon's remarkable run as ruler of the chip world may be nearing an end as engineers eventually lose the ability to make faster silicon transistors by making them smaller. In the hunt for what comes next, carbon nanotubes have gotten a big chunk of the attention, but if the current explosion of research activity is any indication, it may be graphene that wins in the end.