5 ms·

Could you weave those nanotubes together, to go from nanotubes less than 1 meter, to something the required length?

• Zikes 13y ago
  I think they'd have to work with strands much longer than the 1 meter ones currently available in order to make a sufficiently resilient "rope". Also, the article didn't mention it, but that 1 meter strand was probably made under strict laboratory conditions after a great deal of trial, and it's not likely able to scale up to manufacturing standards just yet.
  • Balgair 13y ago
    Some issues come from phonon effects. These ropes would be a single crystal in effect. From thermal 'noise' you get phonons in the crystal. Since the crystal is a big tube, these phonons can only travel up, down, or create standing waves around the tube (essentially). When these phonons interact, there may be enough energy present to break the crystal/rope. This happens a lot since atoms are real small. Doping the crystal may help, but that'll weaken it. Cooling it may help, but that's costly. Much more basic research is needed.
    • thret 13y ago
      Just out of curiosity, could we build a space elevator on the moon with current materials?
      • neolefty 13y ago
        Yes, with Kevlar -- to L2 or L1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_space_elevator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_space_elevator
      • nextweek2 13y ago
        That also raises the same question about Mars (given that its about half the size of Earth).