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tonyPick [soylentnews.org] writes:

Hackaday has an article on a practical application for Tesla Coils [hackaday.com] in the self-assembly of matter:

A self-funded research team at Rice University has found that unordered heaps of carbon nanotubes will self-assemble into conductive wires when exposed to the electric field of a strong Tesla coil. The related paper by lead author and graduate student [Lindsey R. Bornhoeft], introduces the phenomenon as “Teslaphoresis”.

The Tesla Coil [wikipedia.org] was invented around 1891 by Nikola Tesla to produce high-voltage and high frequency electricity, and is commonly used to create impressive visual displays.

This story is also covered at phys.org [phys.org], and quotes Rice chemist Paul Cherukuri:

In one experiment, nanotubes assembled themselves into wires, formed a circuit connecting two LEDs and then absorbed energy from the Tesla coil's field to light them.

Cherukuri realized a redesigned Tesla coil could create a powerful force field at distances far greater than anyone imagined. His team observed alignment and movement of the nanotubes several feet away from the coil. "It is such a stunning thing to watch these nanotubes come alive and stitch themselves into wires on the other side of the room," he said.

There is a YouTube video which includes a demonstration of Teslaphoresis in action [youtube.com] (including the LED experiment mentioned), and the source press release [rice.edu] has further details. (However the journal article itself is paywalled).

Also seen at HackerNews [ycombinator.com]

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