Nanotubes by the Kilo

Reinnette Marek writes "Nanotechnology is no longer fiction; it is fact. Rick Smalley, Nobel laureate, has announced the formation of a company to commercialize the production of single wall carbon nanotubes. These nanotubes are 100 times stronger than steel, have the electrical conducticity of copper OR the semiconductivity of silicon, and the thermal conductivity of diamond. The technology promises to revolutionize flat panel displays, conductive polymers, molecular computers, biomedical devices, and ultra high capacity lithium ion batteries. See article in Science, http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/290/5490/246b."

Comments

Jumping the gun...

[Mad Hughagi]

Still, Smalley cautions, "this isn't the ultimate" when it comes to making SWNTs. The tubes, he says, wind up as a tangled mat rather than perfectly aligned fibers. They also vary slightly in diameter, a drawback that can create tubes with a range of electronic properties.

As one can see, this new technique is definately a step in the right direction, however, I don't think it should be touted as the beginning of implementation for this technology. The complications that Smalley describes make this production method suitable for producing relatively large amounts of nanotubes, however, they are not of sufficient quality for use in many of their proposed applications.