Nanotubes

Imagine the wooden pole of an umbrella, which weighs about 4 kg and is about 2 meters tall. Now imagine a single pole like an umbrella, but hundreds of times thinner and stronger than steel. The result is nanotubes.

One square kilometer of nanotubes weighs only about 30 kilograms, it is flexible , and stronger than steel.

Due to its properties, nanotubes have become a viable candidate for a multitude of uses like strong cords to stop fighter jets when landing on a boat. One of the most famous and most anticipated uses of nanotubes is to create a space elevator that would stretch from the Earth to the moon. (Source)

Artist idea of a space elevator

Recently, researches at Rice University has discovered how to create nanotubes quickly and effectively. First they put carbon inside a furnace at 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit to heat up the carbon, and then they put the carbon through a process called laser vaporization. In essence, laser vaporizes the atoms of an object by heating it up so quickly. Then, the atoms fall back down onto the open end of the tube thus growing the nanotube. While the atoms fall onto the nanotubes ends, a catalyst of cobalt nickel prevents the tube from capping until the cobalt nickel is removed, allowing scientist to cap the nanotube at specific time, and letting them create nanotubes at specific lengths. (Source)


 Nanotubes are built up from hexagons, and because hexagons are one of the 5 platonic solids (where the enclosure of the platonic solid would create a dodecahedron). It forms a surface that has no open areas. In fact a nanotube is essentially a dodecahedron, but because of the cobalt nickel, the middle is extended until it closes. In other words, if you cut of both ends of a nanotube and put them together, you would get a dodecahedron.  (I am receiving feedback that this is not very clear, so feel free to post comment to ask questions).


It is also possible to change the nanotubes. Nanotubes are described by vectors (looks like <n,m>) that describe how far the two points that are superimposed to be rolled up are from each other. 
There are three different types of nanotubes; here are the properties of their vectors:

• Zig-zags-the abscissa can be any number, but the ordinate is always 0
• Armchairs-the  abscissa and ordinates are always equal
• Chirals- is when the abscissa and ordinate have no relevance to each other, and so either can be any number 

The zig-zags and armchairs often are very symmetric while Chirals are not.
(source 1) (source 2)

Different types of nanotubes that change because of changes in vectors