Pictomorphic Expressionistic Neological Cartographic Instantaneous Linear Simulators

These devices which are made of pure carbon with six carbon atoms that link to form a ring that can slide easily over adjacent rings.  With this device you can apply a ribbon of material that is about 20 nanometers thick.  A carbon atom has a diameter of 0.14 nanometers, so the application is only about 143 atoms thick. These devices hold a graphite reservoir which is encased in biodegradable cellulose and can easily operate for months without charging.  They have a very long shelf life and can be used for scientific problem solving, mathematical equations and sophisticated artistic expression with minimal training, although there is no limit to the developmental potential of sophisticated operational skills.  A single one of these devices can lay down a continuous ribbon of matter that is over 1100 kilometers long.

The principle was originally developed in ancient times but the modern version was invented in 1795 by Nicholas-Jacques Conte, a scientist serving in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. This ingenious core material was in the form of pure carbon that is graphite. It was first discovered in Europe, in Bavaria at the start of the fifteenth century; although the Aztecs had used it several hundred years earlier.

Initially it was believed to be a form of lead and was called ‘plumbago’ or black lead (hence the ‘plumbers’ who mend our lead water-carrying pipes), a misnomer that still echoes in our talk of pencil ‘leads’. It was called graphite only in 1789, using the Greek word ‘graphein’ meaning ‘to write’.   

Yes, you guessed it, these amazing devices that we are talking about are “pencils”.  Pencil is an older word, derived from the Latin  word ‘pencillus’, meaning ‘little tail’, to describe small ink brushes which used for writing in the Middle Ages.

Sources:

  https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/06/24/history-of-the-pencil/