What common use does graphite have?

Answer 1

Pencils and lubrication.
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Answer 2

Graphite is used in pencils so most are incorrectly called "lead pencils". Also, it can be used as a lubricant, specifically for locks. Also used in fishing poles and golf clubs.

Answer 3

Graphite is commonly used in pencils, the one that makes it write

Answer 4

Graphite is the substance used as the marking material ("lead") in common pencils.

In its pure glassy (isotropic) synthetic forms, pyrolytic carbon and carbon fiber, graphite is an extremely strong, heat-resistant (to 3000°C) material, used in reentry shields for missile nosecones, solid rocket engines, pebble bed reactors, brake shoes, electric motor brushes and as electrodes in electrical discharge machines (EDM).

Intumescent or expandable graphites are used in firestops, particularly plastic pipes and gaskets, fitted around the perimeter of a fire door. During a fire, the graphite expands and chars to resist fire penetration and reduce the likelihood of the spread of fire and fumes. A typical start expansion temperature (SET) is between 150 and 300 degrees Celsius.

Carbon fiber and carbon nanotubes are also used in carbon fiber reinforced plastics, and in heat-resistant composites such as reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC). Products made from carbon fiber graphite composites include fishing rods, golf clubs, and bicycle frames, and have been successfully employed in reinforced concrete. The mechanical properties of carbon fiber graphite-reinforced plastic composites and grey cast iron are strongly influenced by the role of graphite in these materials. In this context, the term "(100%) graphite" is often loosely used to refer to a pure mixture of carbon reinforcement and resin, while the term "composite" is used for composite materials with additional ingredients.

Graphite also finds use as a matrix and neutron moderator within nuclear reactors. Its low neutron cross section also recommends it for use in proposed fusion reactors. Care must be taken that reactor-grade graphite is free of neutron absorbing materials such as boron, widely used as the seed electrode in commercial graphite deposition systems-- this caused the failure of the Germans' World War II graphite-based nuclear reactors. Since they could not isolate the difficulty they were forced to use far more expensive heavy water moderators. Graphite used for nuclear reactors is often referred to as Nuclear Graphite.

Graphite has been used in at least three radar absorbent materials. It was mixed with rubber in Sumpf and Schornsteinfeger, which were used on U-boat snorkels to reduce their radar cross section. It was also used in tiles on early F-117 Nighthawks.

Answer 5

Pencils...the "lead" part which is no longer lead, but instead graphite.

Answer 6

In solid form, it's commonly used as the 'lead' in a pencil.
Ground into powder, it's effective as a dry lubricant in small mechanical devices such as lock cylinders and watch movements.

Answer 7

It's the "lead" in your standard #2 pencil.

Answer 8

As lead in pencils.

Answer 9

Fishing poles.

Answer 10

It what is in pencils that make them write.