We know thin is in, but even the MacBook Air will have trouble competing against this: introducing "graphene," a new kind of material only one atom thick.

The material was first discovered in 2004, but since then it's been creating quite a buzz among scientists. Graphene's latest contribution to science is enabling us to take a peek at the secrets of the universe.

Well, one of its secrets anyway. You know how the universe has all these constants that we learn at school and forget right after an exam? Constants like the speed of light or the electrical charge of the atom. Well, graphene recently helped calculate one of these constants.

These constants, which are called fundamental constants, are the numbers that explain how the basic elements of the universe as we know it works. If they were different by even a tiny fraction, everything right now would be different.

The constant that graphene helped scientists solve is the fundamental constant of light. Because of the thin material (can't get any thinner than an atom) scientists were able to figure out the constant by observing how much light it absorbed.

For the curious, here are the findings by researchers from Manchester University and the University of Minho. The material absorbed 2.3 percent of light, making the material opaque. They then calculated the constant to be 1/137.

Graphene is making waves in other branches of science as well. Professor Andre Geim, who leads the research, believes that the material can be used to make ballistic transistors, which would be faster than any existing technology.

Because graphene is only one atom thick, electrons can travel through it without having to collide with other electrons, making it, well, really really fast.