From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@aeiveos.com)
Date: Mon May 26 2003 - 01:04:18 MDT
On Sun, 25 May 2003, Party of Citizens wrote:
> What is there about so-called carbon nanotubes which links them to
> nanotechnology any more than any other molecule?
I'm assuming this is a "serious" question.
It involves (a) the precise structure of covalent bonding
between the carbon atoms (in a buckyball/nanotube structure) --
there are more covalent bonds between the atoms in the material
per unit volume compared with other materials (proteins,
cellulose, etc.); and (b) it is potentially one of the
strongest known linear molecules (other linear molecules
which have found uses that I can quickly think of include
polyester, rayon and nylon).
Nanotubes are linked to nanotech because at least in their
diameter they are at the "nanoscale" (i.e. less than 100 nm
as defined by the National Science Foundation). Their
claim to fame (vs. polyester, etc.) is that they simply
happen to be stronger. They also have some other interesting
properties (they can be semiconductors, they *might* be able
to wire together small electronic circuits in chips, they *might*
be able to store hydrogen, etc. -- these are not properties one
generally finds in more commonly known long molecules with nanoscale
dimensions.
To a large extent it remains to be seen whether the results will
eventually match the hype. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Robert
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