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Nanotube Applications Grow And Grow

Posted by timothy on from the or-shrink-and-shrink dept.

HobbySpacer writes "Carbon nanotubes are starting to transition from interesting laboratory curiosities into interesting technological applications. These apps include non-volatile RAM, flat screen displays, high strength fabrics, and smart skin for structures in aerospace and elsewhere. Perhaps if The Graduate was being made today, the one word for Benjamin Braddock's future would not be "plastics" but "nanotubes"."

2 of 264 comments (clear)

  1. More relevant material by mao+che+minh · · Score: 5, Informative
    NASA also has a page for it's nanotube developments at Johnson Space Center. The NSF is part of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, and has it's own page as well.

    And as far as commercial entities go, don't forget IBM's find back in September of 2002, which was making nanotubes with carbon instead of metal.

  2. Bullet-proof nano-fabric? by Darken_Everseek · · Score: 5, Informative

    That's all fine and dandy, but a bullet proof piece of clothing 'as light as a t-shirt' wouldn't so squat. Kevlar is a pretty light material too, the reason bullet proof vests are so heavy is because of the large impact absorbing plates. Without some impact absorbance, the bullet would just end up dragging a whole bunch of cloth into the gaping hole in your chest. You have to have something to absorb the kinetic energy; and a t-shirt just doesn't cut it.