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from the Sade-would-dig-these-Diamond-Life-threads dept.
Would you dress in diamond nanothreads? It's not as far-fetched as you might think. And you'll have a Brisbane-based carbon chemist and engineer to thank for it.
QUT's [Queensland University of Technology. ] Dr Haifei Zhan is leading a global effort to work out how many ways humanity can use a newly-invented material with enormous potential -- diamond nanothread (DNT).
First created by Pennsylvania State University last year, one-dimensional DNT is similar to carbon nanotubes, hollow cylindrical tubes 10,000 times smaller than human hair, stronger than steel -- but brittle.
"DNT, by comparison, is even thinner, incorporating kinks of hydrogen in the carbon's hollow structure, called Stone-Wale (SW) transformation defects, which I've discovered reduces brittleness and adds flexibility," said Dr Zhan, from QUT's School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering.
"That structure makes DNT a great candidate for a range of uses. It's possible DNT may become as ubiquitous a[s] plastic in the future, used in everything from clothing to cars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 09 2016, @07:55PM
I want to see the molecule in at least two ways:
1. plain 2-D connectivity
2. a ball-and-stick 3-D model, with the balls small enough that I can see everything
How organized is it? Is there a repeating unit? Are there multiple possible units with simple connectivity rules? Is there much random crap?