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World's Largest Nanotube Model

darthpenguin writes "A group at Rice University has completed building the world's largest Nanotube model. Rice University is a leader in this revolutionary field involving nanotubes and buckyballs, which have the potential to revolutionize certain areas of science. The completed model, a full 360 meters in length, has been accepted by the Guinness Book of World Records."

19 of 147 comments (clear)

  1. Definition of Irony: by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 3, Insightful


    A group at Rice University has completed building the world's largest Nanotube model.

    Someone ought to call the kids over at Rice University and let them know they're working in the wrong direction....the whole point of nanotubes is that they're supposed to be small.

    Seriously, though, shouldn't these kids be working on something other than trying to get into the Book of Records? Like, perhaps, doing work with actual nanotubes?

    The completed model, a full 360 meters in length, has been accepted by the Guinness Book of World Records.

    Wow...what's the category? World's Biggest Waste of Time ?

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    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:Definition of Irony: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Wow...what's the category? World's Biggest Waste of Time ?
      I think that pretty well describes everything in the Guinness Book of World Records.
    2. Re:Definition of Irony: by Council · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Like posting on /.?

      No, wait, before you mod me down -- this is a fallacy I see a lot that bothers me and will probably come out a lot in these comments. When someone does something big and pointless and it's closely related to something good for the world, people say "what a waste of time!" but when they do something big and pointless and geeky that doesn't remind you about the world's problems, people say "cool!" Millions of people are wasting time constantly, including people with the potential to change the world tremendously.

      Put another way, researchers don't have to devote every minute of their lives to doing research. Especially not when we're wasting our lives posting about them on /.

      Though the GWR is silly.

      --
      xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
  2. Also on display... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... World's tallest Midget.

  3. Revolutionary Field? by mazarin5 · · Score: 4, Funny
    Rice University is a leader in this revolutionary field involving nanotubes

    The revolutionary field of making gigantic models? :)

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    Fnord.
  4. Guinness by Tyler+Eaves · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Any remember when a GWR actually MEANT something? Now seems like they'll give a record to any borderline unique PR stunt...

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    TODO: Something witty here...
    1. Re:Guinness by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 3, Funny

      +1, World's Most Insightful Comment Regarding Both The Guinness Book Of World Records And Public Relations In A Negative Fashion

      --
      Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
  5. Community building by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's just about pulling together as chemistry geeks. Most of the world's monuments were largely about this. Partially the local religion, but mostly "look at this fucking thing we built."

    That's a valuable thing in and of itself. The actual thing doesn't have to then be useful.

    You could suggest they do a charity instead, but that wouldn't necessarily pull them together. You can't just force people to enjoy the same charity.

    You might want to look at what human beings are like sometime.

    1. Re:Community building by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 3, Insightful


      You might want to look at what human beings are like sometime.

      Actually, no...I wouldn't. Every time I try that, it takes me a whole bottle of Pepto to get my stomach back under control.

      --
      ____

      ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

  6. Suddenly I don't feel so inadequate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    nanotubes and buckyballs

    I bet their wives tease them all the time.

  7. Picture Of The Inanimate Carbon Rod by Anti_Climax · · Score: 5, Funny
    Apparently they've posted an ASCII photo of the model to save bandwidth. I think I managed to get it before they site went down. It looks like this
    Fatal error: out of dynamic memory in yy_create_buffer() in Unknown on line 0
    I can't really tell how true to life it is though.
    --
    Even people that believe in pre-destiny look both ways before crossing the street.
  8. This beats the previous model... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...by 359.99999999 meters.

  9. To keep it from being boring... by orkysoft · · Score: 3, Funny

    To keep it from being boring, they put a tiny spaceship inside!

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    I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
  10. Poor Guy... by templest · · Score: 4, Funny
    buckyballs, ...a full 360 meters in length, has been accepted by the Guinness Book of World Records.
    I feel sorry for the dude. I mean, what can he do but wrap them around his waist...
    Oh, I thought... you know what, nevermind.
    --
    I'm a signature virus. Please copy me to your signature so I can replicate.
  11. "a full 360 meters in length" by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wow, if just the model is 360m long, imagine how big an ACTUAL nanotube must be!

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    You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
  12. They're entitled to a PR stunt... by pmadden · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Give them a break... the model is a PR stunt, but the whole nanotube/buckyball thing started at Rice. The feds have started pouring money into nanotech research; if Rice wants to get their fair share of the loot, they need to make sure no one forgets where the nanotube came from. Seems like a lot of /.ers don't know, which is kind of scary.

    Most schools use their sports programs to get positive PR. Rice is doing their PR off of some very solid and useful research that happened on campus. Got a problem with that?

  13. ok... by BoomTechnology · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ok. In all honesty -- it really wasn't that big of a
    waste of time. We (the students -- undergrad
    students who don't have the knowledge of doing
    this sort of research) were asked by the coordinators to sign up to build the tube.
    Mind you, we did this on a Friday when most of us don't
    work hard anyways (especially those silly Academs).
    OK. Admittedly, I did not partake in these festivities as I was busy with other more important things,
    but for the people who had the time to do it, I'm sure
    it was a bonding experience and I'm sure they had a blast. Plus they got free t-shirts...yum.

    --
    Now then, Dmitri, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the Bomb...
  14. Re:Modern Academia by FleaPlus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The Nobel prize is largely without credibility anyomre becuase of all the political extremism of the Nobel committiee.

    That may be an issue with the Peace prize or even the Economics prize, but I've never heard of somebody accuse the Nobel Prize in Chemistry as being politically extreme.