Rice Contracted to Provide NASA's Quantum Wire

geekman writes "NASA is paying Rice University $11 million to build a prototype quantum wire that can conduct electricity 10 times better than traditional copper cables at one-sixth the weight. Rice has four years to build a one-meter-long quantum wire, which will be made out of carbon nanotubes. Seems like a lot of money for a little wire, but then again, all the rocket scientists at Los Alamos have only ever been able to put together a four-centimeter nanotube."

Comments

Reference and extra-info

[Spy der Mann]

For those who didn't read the past article on quantum wires, here it is.

And for those who don't know what an armchair nanotube is, here are some images (The armchair nanotube is the one in the middle).

Re:Ballistic Conduction

[IWannaBeAnAC]

No, quantum wires have a resistance that increases logarithmically with the length, rather than linearly for normal (ohmic) wires.

Exactly zero resistance would be an ideal conductor. I don't think there are any examples of ideal conductors that are not also superconductors, which implies low temperature.

It's a proof of concept

[andrewzx1]

If Nobel lareat Smalley and his lab can build a proof of concept of the Carbon nanotube superwire, it would be worth far more than a few million $. This kind of technology would seriously revolutionize Western society. With a super wire you can build electic motors that are both many times stronger at the same power, and are much more efficient. The resulting stepping motors would revolutionize robotics. The wires would change how we deliver power, and even possibly, basic electrical circuitry. Imagine high current density superconductor wires at room temperature.

Carbon nanotubules, when properly, manufactured could also have very high tensile strength. Many times stronger than stranded steel cable and weighing less as well. This is the technology people what it use to build the space elevator.

Of course, after proof of concept there are still many challenges to cost effective manufacturing.

There are a dozen revolutionary uses for super wires. But first we need a proof of concept. FYI - I'm looking for a job at a well-funded nanotech startup. Many qualificiations, inquire within!

Re:It's a proof of concept

[ramblin billy]

The dudes at Rice invented 3 of the 4 current methods for producing buckytubes. Their current research involves the use of catalysts applied to the end of existing tubes which results in "cloning" the tube, allowing for unprecedented control of the tubes characteristics. Here are some of Smalley's comments on buckytubes...

"These single walled carbon nanotubes are uniquely specified by two small integers, n and m. The diameter is roughly proportional to the sum, n+m. The electronic properties, however, are determined by the difference, n-m. If n and m are the same, then n-m=0 and the tube conducts electrons like a perfect metal. In the trade it is called and "arm-chair" tube. Electrons move down this tube as a coherent quantum particle, traveling down the tube much like a photon of light travels down a single mode optic fiber. Individual armchair tubes can conduct as much as 20 microamps of current. This doesn't sound like much until you realize that his little molecular wire is only 1 nanometer in diameter. A half inch thick cable made of these tubes aligned parallel to each other along the cable, would have over 100 trillion conductors packed side-by-side like pipes in a hardware store. If each of these tubes carried only one microamp, only 2 percent of its capacity, the half inch thick cable would be carrying one hundred millions amps of current. Fabricating such a cable - we call it the "armchair quantum wire" - is a prime objective of our work."

Buckytubes exceed the strength of carbon fiber (30 to 100 times that of steel), the thermal transfer ability of diamonds, and are the best electrical conductor of any molecule known. They promise great advances not only for the transmission of energy, but also for energy storage (including hydrogen), composite fabrics, and even solar power. The world's leading producer of buckytubes is Carbon Nanotechnologies Incorporated, a Houston based spin-off from Rice. In the computer category, IBM has already announced the successful manufacture of buckytube transistors. It may not be all that long until we start to see some real world applications that begin to fulfill the exalted "gee whiz" promise of nanotechnology. And I'm not talking about facial creams.

billy - no...they are NOT calling the transistor 'little blue'