Andre Geim on levitating frogs, graphene and 2D materials
The Nobel Prize-winning physicist tells Jim Al-Khalili about his journey from the Soviet Union to Western Europe and a Nobel Prize in Physics - plus some amphibian levitation.
The world around us is three-dimensional. Yet, there are materials that can be regarded as two-dimensional. They are only one layer of atoms thick and have remarkable properties that are different from their three-dimensional counterparts.
Sir Andre Geim created the first-ever man-made 2D material, by isolating graphene, and is one of the pioneers in this line of research. Even beyond his Nobel Prize-winning work on graphene, he has explored new ideas in many different areas of physics throughout his career.
Andre tells Jim about his time growing up in the Soviet Union, being rejected from university based on his German ethnicity, his move to Western Europe, and levitating frogs.
Produced by Florian Bohr.
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The Life Scientific
Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work.
