>VARIABLE ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF MOLECULAR CARBON NANOTUBES
>Fullerenes are large molecules composed entirely of carbon, with
>the chemical formula C(n), where n is any even number from 32 to
>over 100. They apparently have the structure of a hollow
>spheroidal cage with a surface network of carbon atoms connected
>in hexagonal and pentagonal rings. They were discovered by
>Richard E. Smalley, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for
>the discovery in 1996. Carbon nanotubes are similar to
>fullerenes, except their shape is tubular. They were first
>discovered by Sumio Iijima (NEC Laboratories, JP) in 1991, they
>come in both multi-walled and single-walled versions, and they
>have diameters of the order of 10 to 30 nanometers. They may be
>the strongest materials ever produced, and depending on their
>geometry, their electrical behavior can be that of a metal, a
>semiconductor, or an insulator. Richard E. Smalley, the discover
>of fullerenes, is at Rice University (TX US), and a recent
>workshop sponsored by Rice and the U.S. Office of Naval Research
>was devoted to carbon nanotubes. Smalley is convinced that carbon
>nanotubes have the potential to change the future of humanity,
>and apparently the chemists working with these new molecular
>forms are in agreement with him, and consider the chemistry of
carbon nanotubes as the first step to a science of molecular
devices. (Chem. & Eng. News 30 June)
Max More, Ph.D.
more@extropy.org
http://www.primenet.com/~maxmore
President, Extropy Institute: exi-info@extropy.org, http://www.extropy.org
EXTRO 3 CONFERENCE on the future: http://www.extropy.org/extro3.htm