There is a substance currently being developed and applied in science labs across the world that may one day be the cornerstone of much of the technology you will own. It's name is graphene, and many researchers believe it is the material of the future.

Graphene is composed of a latticework of carbon atoms arranged in a single layer, forming a nearly one-dimensional honeycomb-like structure. Its applications for technology seem endless and quite promising.

For one, graphene is the thinnest material possible that could be used towards practical applications right now. It is over 200 times stronger than steel and conducts electricity better than any material known to man.

"It would take an elephant, balanced on a pencil, to break through a sheet of graphene the thickness of Saran Wrap," says mechanical engineering professor James Hone of Columbia University.

But it doesn't stop there. Graphene has also been shown to have uses in the biotech field, seving as a biocompatible and conductive scaffolding for neural stem cells. That's right, graphene could one day be vital to both the technology you use and the health care you receive.

In 2010 alone, graphene was the subject of over 3000 research papers and hundreds of companies are now forming in order to capitalize on this 'miracle material.' Also in 2010, Konstantin Novoselow and Andre Geim were awarded the Nobel Prize for their pioneering work with graphene.

It has been proposed that because of its flexibility, in the future graphene will be able to give us cell phones that we can roll up and put behind our ear like a pencil. It could make lighter aircraft and satellites, be embedded in plastics to get them to conduct electricity, and even be used to sense dangerous molecules in the air.

"It can open completely new applications in transparent electronics, in flexible electronics and electronics that are much faster than today," says Jari Kinaret, professor of technology at Chalmers University in Sweden.