The Carbon Superhero

Carbon Nanotubes

Today, science has ventured towards benefits of materials on the molecular level. A perfect example is the carbon nanotube. A cylindrical tube made of carbon atoms that have phenomenal characteristics mechanically, electrically, thermally, optically,  and chemically. It exerts 2000 times the strength and 5 times the elasticity of steel! Don't forget that it has 5 times the electrical conductivity, 15 times the thermal conductivity and 1,000 times the current capacity of copper, and has half the density of aluminum. Since it is made out of carbon nanotubes it has no downside when it comes to environmental and physical degradation. Unlike metals it does not thermally expand or contract, corrode, and it's not sensitive to radiation. Carbon nanotubes are members of the fulleren structural family, this family also has the famous buckyball. The diameter of the carbon nanotube can vary from 1 nanometer to 50 nanometers. Think about it, one nanometer is one thousandth of a meter! A nanotube's diameter can be approximately 10,000 times smaller than a human hair! Although, they may be very tiny they have huge impacts in the world of science and technology. 

            Now you maybe wondering, who is the brilliant genius that invented these carbon nanotubes?
Well, his name is Sumio Iijima. He was born on May 2, 1939 in Saitama Prefecture in 1939. He graduated from the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo in 1963, and received a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1963, and went on to receive a Master's degree in 1965 and finally completed his Ph.D. in solid-state physics in 1968 which he both received at Tohoku University in Sendai. In 1970, he accepted a job at Arizona Stat University, there he worked as a researcher in the field of electron microscopy. Part of his work was to study the atomic structure of carbon. He then returned to Japan in 1982, and worked with JRDC or the Research Development Corporation of Japan in the field of ultra-fine metal particles. In 1987, he began to work at NEC Fundamental Research Laboratories where he developed a program in advanced electron microscopy. This led him to return to his earliest interest in the atomic structure of carbon. Finally, the part you have all been waiting for, he discovered the carbon nanotube in June 1991. He found these carbon nanotubes when he was examining carbon materials under an electron microscope. As he put it, "I found an extremely thin needle like material... Soon thereafter the material was proved to have a graphite structure basically, and its details were disclosed. I named these materials 'carbon nanotubes' since they have a tubular structure of carbon atom sheets."
         So how are these carbon nanotubes really being applied to science right now? Many fields are starting to experiment with carbon nanotubes, one obvious field is Nanotechnology. Who saw that coming? But carbon nanotubes are also being applied to areas of health like dental, Researches are trying to improve dental implants by adding carbon nanotubes to the surface of the implanted material. Also, Researchers at MIT are building a sensor with carbon nanotubes in a certain gel; they want to inject this underneath the skin to help monitor the level of nitric oxide in the bloodstream. That way they can know about inflammation and other inflammatory diseases. The mice they tested have been functional for over a year. Not only health but the environment, materials, and electronics.
Carbon nanotubes could possibly help clean up oil spills by isolating the oil droplets. How is that gonna work? Glad you asked, the carbon nanotubes are attracted to oil but they will be infused with gold nanoparticles that are attracted to gold. Thus, the tubes will form spheres around the droplets of oil with the tubes pointing in and the gold pointing out, it's like a mini cage! Not only that but it acts like a sponge. Researchers have found that adding boron atoms to the carbon nanotubes can cause the nanotubes to grow into a sponge like material that can absorb a lot more oil than its weight. Have you ever heard of a transfomer? If you haven't go by the DVD, I suggest watching the only the first two, those are the best. The rest are starting to get a little boring for me, really. But, back to carbon nanotubes! NASA is currently working on a carbon nanotube composite that bends when a voltage is utilized. Thus, if an electrical voltage is applied, it can change the shape of say, aircraft wings and other structures. Pretty neat. But in areas of more inconvenience like those cracks you see in the road and you are just anticipating that annoying bump? Our friends at MIT developed a method called nanostitching. This is where if you have carbon nanotubes perpendicular to the carbon fibers, this will help hold the fibers together better.
      I know you would love to here more about these carbon nanotubes but I gotta run! I hope this post was very insightful of what scientists today are doing! If everything goes as planned, I might have a computer with transistors made up of carbon nanotubes! Bye Guys!