Resumen de Carbon nanotubes: : The next industrial revolution?

Industrial Minerals

• Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are hollow tubes made entirely of carbon. Tube diameters can be as low as one nanometer (10[superscript]-9 m), while length can be hundreds of microns, giving aspect ratios above 130,000,000: 1, greater than any other substance. CNTs are unique because the bonding between the atoms makes them very strong and because they can be extremely good conductors of electricity and heat. Over the past 20 years, there has been unrelenting growth in R&D into CNTs, in both academia and industry.

  CNTs can be used to direct electrons to illuminate pixels, resulting in a lightweight, millimetre thick "nano-emissive" display panel. Televisions may eventually use CNTs to create high-resolution displays, using less power than liquid crystal or plasma models. Scientists at Purdue University, US, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, US, are focusing on the flexibility of CNTs to develop very thin display units, which might be used as electronic newspapers or similar hand held, roll up devices.