But that wasn't known until 2004, when Geim and Novoselov, both of of the University of Manchester, UK, first used sticky tape to pull tiny sheets of carbon off a piece of graphite.

Even so, the first ply or two of carbon could be wrapped loosely with tape to hold it in place until cure.

When it is time to pull the tape off the cut out pieces, the delicate carbon fiber holds together far better when using more than one ply.