Carbon nanotubes: The weird world of 'remote Joule heating'

[Brandon]

(Phys.org) --

A team of University of Maryland scientists have discovered that when electric current is run through carbon nanotubes, objects nearby heat up while the nanotubes themselves stay cool, like a toaster that burns bread without getting hot. Understanding this completely unexpected new phenomenon could lead to new ways of building computer processors that can run at higher speeds without overheating.

"This is a new phenomenon we're observing, exclusively at the nanoscale, and it is completely contrary to our intuition and knowledge of Joule heating at larger scales-for example, in things like your toaster," says first author Kamal Baloch, who conducted the research while a graduate student at the University of Maryland. "The nanotube's electrons are bouncing off of something, but not its atoms. Somehow, the atoms of the neighboring materials-the silicon nitride substrate-are vibrating and getting hot instead."

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I can't wait to have them in my computer!

 

[Monster]

Nice!

 

[Brandon]

btw is there anything carbon nanotubes aren't good for!

Bike parts and helmets, boats, wind turbines, sports gear, microscopes, tissue engineering, probably even more if I did some real research.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube#Current_applications

 

[Brandon]

also.. about the price..

PENANG, 10 April 2012 - A group of researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) have successfully created a new method for producing carbon nanotubes.

The method known as the Continuous Production Method of Carbon Nanotubes using Rotation Reactor is the first ever created in Southeast Asia.

The research team leader, Assoc. Dr. Abdul Rahman Mohamed said, a new rotation of the reactor system is designed to enable the continuous production of carbon nanotubes without compromising the quality and authenticity.

"The system is capable of producing up to 1000 grams of carbon nanotubes a day,'' he said.

"The method is capable of reducing the price of carbon nanotubes from USD100 - USD700 to just USD 15 to USD 35 for each gram, much lower than world market prices,'' he said.

 

[Monster]

Wow, that's indeed a lot cheaper than before. Not sure how much 1 gram of carbon nanotubes really is, but I hope they'll be affordable enough when they're finally used for semiconductor production one day!

(or chips, in general; not sure if that would be called "semiconductor" then )