Concrete may have found it's killer app in graphene. It is being manufactured into super strong nanotube paper which can be wound into fibres which are then rolled up to create the best-known forms of carbon composites, a major form of construction material that can also be easily moulded or extruded into tubes or any other shape, or even woven into fabric.
The material also has great tensile strength - the ability to withstand a force without tearing or breaking - and even better shear strength, which is the ability to take up forces when two faces of an object are pressed together.
Its thermal and electrical conductivity is excellent - more than 10,000 times that of air - and although it is not superconductive, it can carry large amounts of current without resistance, like a metal. This means it could be used to rapidly recharge electric cars, or in computer circuits for laptops or cell phones.
All this means the material could be used in sports equipment, aerospace, and even in space. Nanotechnology promises to transform the world, not only by adding new and useful features, but also by re-engineering our lives and the environment.
By contrast, all other nanomaterials, although more complex, can't compare with carbon nanotubes. They have much lower strength, limited electrical, thermal and optical properties, and cannot easily be reshaped to take up new forms. They may be used to manufacture a new generation of nanomaterials, such as nanotube wires, which may in turn find other uses.
Nanotechnology could also be used to create sensors to detect land-mines and chemical, biological and biological contaminants, which will be invaluable in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 2001.
Nanotechnology has important environmental implications as well. Because of its ability to convert many pollutants into less harmful by-products, carbon nanotubes can replace toxic solvents and the materials used in manufacturing filters and membranes. Nanotech is already being used to create low-cost environmentally friendly filters for coal plants and vehicles.
The new material is far more resistant than steel, or even the best metals like titanium, stainless steel, or high strength alloys. Carbon nanotubes are 10,000 times stronger than steel and 10 times as tough, much tougher than most other advanced materials used today. This means carbon nanotube paper could replace metal components in virtually all applications, ranging from body armour to sports equipment, to bridges, and even ship hulls.
Nanotechnology could also greatly expand medical and health sciences. It could lead to more effective antibiotics and even an artificial heart - as well as more flexible medical devices and much higher resolution X-ray and ultrasound imaging equipment.
One potential use of nanotechnology is in the field of optical fibres. Carbon nanotubes could be much thinner and stronger than those now available, so it may be possible to make optical fibres on the scale of a few hundredths of a millimetre in diameter. These could easily be woven into fabric, making super-strong fibres for super-thin lighting and flexible circuits.
The researchers estimate the cost of manufacturing carbon nanotube paper is likely to be in the order of US$5 per square metre for industrial use, and under a dollar per square metre for consumer use. The real breakthrough will come with development of large-scale, low-cost production techniques for nanotube fibres, which the researchers estimate will be commercially available around 2007.
As for the other products of nanotechnology, these are not so far away. Nanotube cables will be available within a few years, and the nanotube fibres could be available in five to ten years' time.
Carbon nanotubes are currently one of the hottest topics in technology, and one that makes other nanotechnologies pale in comparison. A single, individual carbon nanotube is an exciting object in itself, a material that truly defies ordinary thinking about matter. And although there are many hurdles to surmount before nanotubes can become a viable product for everyday use, people working in the field believe they can solve the problems in the foreseeable future.
"To be an innovator, you don't have to be the first to the market," says one expert. "You just have to be the first to the market that gets the job done."
The nanotubes form a mat that contains the fibres, making the fibres and the matrix of tubes both useful. Although the fibres and the tubes are of the same substance, the fibre mat is stronger and can be used in environments that are unsuitable for the tubes, which are known to be both strong and durable, but difficult to handle.
Together, the fibre mat and the tubes are about as tough as steel, ten times tougher than titanium or stainless steel. Nanotube fibres have other properties too, like greater stiffness and tensile strength than conventional, large molecules. They have excellent electrical conductivity and conductivity for heat transfer, enabling a nanotube to transfer as much heat as a copper strip.
The researchers are now trying to make use of the low thermal conductivity of the nanotubes, by sandwiching them between two graphene sheets, made of carbon the same sort that's found in fullerenes. This was done in a two-step process, using a conventional method of growing nanotubes on a surface, which they then cut to produce a nanotube yarn.
As the nanotube yarn was pulled across the sheets, it was held in place by van der Waals forces. Then, using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), they could see the individual nanotubes were still there, though now embedded within a new layer of carbon.
When he put his finger into his hand to show how strong his hands are, and then took it away so you could see how strong his hand was, you'd have no way of knowing what difference you saw. Neither of them would seem to be a very good subject for an analogy, although it was perhaps all he could do, given the limits of the language in which to talk about carbon nanotubes.
But there you have it. It has been a long time since I've seen a video so out of touch with reality.
I wonder if he ever dreamed of being part of a story. Or does he take pride in being part of an experiment?
By the way, he's got to be some kind of fool, to try that hard to impress us with his little trick, yet fail completely when we, the listeners, turn the tables and play to his inability to handle the subject matter. How does he think we'd react if we were in his position, knowing what a stupid fool he is, and what a poor excuse for a speaker, and speaker for the ages he appears to be?
If only our politicians were more like him. It would be a lot more fun and easier on all concerned if they were.
As always, I have come and gone a bit... but I have a very busy few weeks coming up. Expect more posts when I'm a little more organized. I'm also going to attempt a podcast for the first time... so stay tuned. And yes, I know how to spell.
Monday, February 26, 2007
If my friend Tom is reading this, and if you are reading this on your computer and you have not figured out how to do this, he wrote a bit about it on a page about ten days ago. I just found the post...
I don't remember if I actually did any research about it, or if I just asked him what he knew...
Tom writes:
A friend of mine has always had a strange fascination with death. To be specific, he's not afraid of dying. He has, however, lived through multiple deaths. The first was when he was seven and found out his parents were getting a divorce. So that.
And even if the divorce were amicable, his brother in law would be going to prison for a while.
The second time happened when he was a teenager, but in his version, it happened before he was alive. Before he was alive, he was a little boy, and his grandfather told
