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Large Sheets of Carbon Nanotubes Produced

Posted by Soulskill on from the series-of-nanotubes dept.

StCredZero brings news that scientists have developed sheets of nanotubes that measure up to three feet by six feet, and they promise "slabs 100 square feet in area as soon as this summer." The developers see uses for the sheets in electromagnetic shields and airplane construction, and according to the Next Big Future blog, the sheets could also impact the development of solar sails. "The sheets, which the company can produce on its single machine at a rate of one per day, are composed of a series of nanotubes each about a millimeter long, overlapping each other randomly to form a thin mat. The tensile strength of the mat ranges from 200 to 500 megapascals--a measure of how tough it is to break. A sheet of aluminum of equivalent thickness, for comparison, has a strength of 500 megapascals. If Nanocomp takes further steps to align the nanotubes, the strength jumps to 1,200 megapascals."

8 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. Does Ted Stevens know about this? by longacre · · Score: 3, Funny

    Conceivably now a big truck AND the Internet could be fabricated out of a series of tubes!

    --
    Airplane Photos, Airline News, Planespotting Guides
  2. i want one by FudRucker · · Score: 5, Funny

    to replace my tinfoil hat...

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
  3. Re:Awesome... by CastrTroy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe the carbon nanotube sheets are made out of, oh, I don't know, carbon? Seems to me there's no shortage of that stuff..

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  4. MacBook by ack_call · · Score: 3, Funny

    I want my next MacBook to be made out of this stuff.

  5. Re:Awesome... by iluvcapra · · Score: 5, Funny

    People. Carbon nanotubes are made out of people.

    !

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    Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
  6. Re:Awesome... by AvitarX · · Score: 2, Funny

    If we feed them, then there will be even more demand for amluminum. That sounds like a bad idea.

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    Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
  7. Will it blend? by imbaczek · · Score: 2, Funny

    Determining the toxicity of carbon nanotubes has been one of the most pressing questions in Nanotechnology. Results from various scientific tests on cells have so far proven confusing, with some results indicating it to be highly toxic and others showing no signs of toxicity. This is primarily because of difficulties arising in spotting the nanotubes entering the cells from other carbon-based cell structures such as membranes. A recent research led by Alexandra Porter from the University of Cambridge shows once they are inside the cell, they accumulate in the cytoplasm and cause cell death.
    Carbon nanosmoke. Don't breathe this!

    (source: wikipedia.)
  8. As with so many things... by absurdist · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...you Brits invented the language.

    We Americans perfected it.

    *ducks*