International scientists have discovered a new material called grapheme, which is one atom thick but stronger than diamonds and conducts electricity 100 times faster than the silicon in computer chips, reports the McClatchy Newspapers.

It is the thinnest known material in the universe and the strongest ever measured, according to Andre Geim, a physicist at the University of Manchester, England., who was quoted in the journal Science. A gram is about 1/30th of an ounce.

This new material is similar to diamonds in that it is pure carbon. It forms a six-sided mesh of atoms that resembles a honeycomb when viewed through an electron microscope, says the article. Despite its strength, grapheme is as flexible as plastic wrap and can be bent, folded or rolled up.

Potential grapheme applications include touch screens, solar cells, energy storage devices, cellphones and eventually high-speed computer chips, according to the paper, but while grapheme is seen as a possible replacement to silicon, reports say that it won't be in the near future.

Government, university laboratories and other companies are now working to solve difficult problems in making grapheme and turning it into useful, commerical products.