A few months ago there was an article on graphene impregnated with cobalt that could be used in cat converters to replace Pt. they said this would make platinum obsolete. Only problem it cost 20x the Pt price and although it worked in the Lab it did not work in real life. Something about heat generation. It would take at least 10 years+ of research to maybe get this working... In the meanwhile Pt moved up $200+ so I don't think anyone is taking this as a real threat at this time. I contacted Rick Rule to get his opinion as a major PGM bull and he was aware of this but for obvious reasons was not too concerned at current Pt prices or even if Pt prices doubled.
Carbon fiber is better then steel, but you don't see all car companies scraping steel. I highly doubt Graphene will be as cheap as silver in my life time and therefore most people will never use it. remember we live in a world where most people want the cheapest product NOT the best.
how old are you? and what's your life expectancy? trying to estimate when graphene will be as cheap as silver )))
Rest assured, if there are advantages to it and the economics is right, it will go. More so if someone convinces a government that there are benefits to be gained.
Graphene has an interesting property - it is transparent. It is therefore a very promising material for use as a solar cell. Some advanced research has already been done and proved that solar cells made with it can be many time more efficient than any other solar cell ever built to date. But the cost is enormous. I don't worry about silver for now. But in a longer run - maybe 10 years from today - there are going to be better solar panels, based on graphene. No doubt about that.
https://www.halifaxmarketwatch.co.u...vas=&use_transparency=&show_intraday_volumes= Have a look at British firm GKN they are at the cutting edge of graphene research and usage in the aerospace industry,but personally I'm not worried about the supposed demise of silver, the use of graphene is for ultra high end use due to massive cost. Military and aerospace being the prime markets.
I have been thinking the same thing for quite a while now - graphene could be silvers creative destruction, especially in the next 5 years. Printed Graphene Transistors Promise a Flexible Electronic Future http://www.technologyreview.com/new...sistors-promise-a-flexible-electronic-future/
It looks like graphene is a long way off if ever ti be cost effective. Im not worried about it at all as it isnt a substitue for silver in most areas. Plus silvers antimicrobial properties have made it useable in a lot of new formats that could substitute any uses lost to graphene.
Ha, that's all we need, more YouTube 'cat on hammock' videos. When you heat up Carbon it turns to CO2 gas. Probably why not good in very hot automobile catalytic converters. It disappears.
I suppose they can't substitute silver in everything. It has a wide-variety of uses. It kills bacteria, it's used in the pharmaceutical industry as well. Has far too many applications/uses to be wiped away by graphene. It's beautiful, also used for jewelry, bullion... Graphene can't perform in this area. There there are so many interests linked to it. I suppose the producers and sellers of silver would do anything to keep it "alive", important.
We live in a world where the combination reliable and affordable is waning for most, up to the level that alot producers / mass producers ceased to use the quality materials they used before. Due to the same theft for which people buy silver against. Graphene is just another story with a price tag, and the question is if that price tag is competable with silvers, in even a slight way. A fair comparison requires the consideration of all involved elements, not just a selection of that. And who knows that? It's just research, and people already draw conclusions / consequences. The question mark is saying that. Aside of this, silver became a consumption model market since the price drop due to the large discoveries in the US beginning. The lower price is responsible for its versatile uses, and exactly this links its price much more to production cost than gold, where the exact opposite situation resides, gold has the biggest supply to production ratio of all commodities, because the high price makes every ounce to be recycled. Gold is, longer term seen - inflation trendwise, mostly about demand, while silver is mostly about supply. We have had a decade a gold mining of 2500 tonnes, while silvers rose 30% in recent years. Golds recycling rose 60% in recent years. And why: because supply was thrown back on the market at a double rate than silver. Says it all. Graphenes story is in a just too early stage to conclude anything. Research is done by an intergovernmental organization. That on its own is already a 'hum'.
For me, silver has so many uses that graphene won't have ANY effect on the price, short term or LONG term. What is the cost of graphene, like 1000 times that of silver? Silver is the best thermal conductor, and is used for a variety of items including cell phones (billion per year), medical use, photography, etc, etc, etc. Silver is CHEAP. Compared to Gold, it's retarded cheap. It's a metal, like gold, and these new technologies, by the time they become affordable, well, silver will be very very rare. I see silver $100+ an ounce in 5-10 years, and it will stay there. If this seems ridiculous, whatever...don't care. What's ridiculous is GOLD, at $1400 an ounce. $22,000 per pound...for a metal? that is mostly used for jewelry? Silver is being depleted, as I type this, and although graphene, or maphene, or whatever comes along at a $billion dollars an ounce, silver will continue to be depleted, bought and sold, and the price will continue to rise. Have we also considered, that while certain new technologies and metals, are replacing silver, that silver is replacing other metals as well? Most of the gold that's ever been taken from the ground still exists. Silver, on the other hand, is being USED. It's like comparing Water to Oil. Water gets recycled, oil doesn't.
Silver is also the best electrical conductor. I'm not sure about words exactly, need to upgrade my English dictionary. Gold has status of "legendary" metal. It's like those older classy cars. Sure, nowadays cars are faster, but don't drive the same... It also looks good in teeth. Just watch some ex-Yugo country movie with gipsies. Gold is all about style.^^ Reuters report for '12 I've read few days ago said that 9% of "produced" silver went to coins and stuff. Around 50% was used in industry. Will link article later on/tomorrow. Don't hold me for words....
That's about right. coins, silverware, etc. most is "used" in the medical field, photography, cell phones, and about 100 more uses. Gold in your teeth is soooo 1980's. Nobody does that crap here anymore. Well, I wouldnt say "nobody," but, its not stylish for about 90% of the American public.
