From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Tue Nov 18 2003 - 06:58:36 PST
"NANOTUBE CABLE WILL CONNECT THE EARTH AND THE MOON"
Andrew Yee <ayee_at_nova.astro.utoronto.ca>
InformNauka (Informscience) Agency
Moscow, Russia
Contact:
A.N. Redkin
or
L.V. Maliarevich
Institute of Problems of Microelectronics Technology and
Extra Pure Materials
Russian Academy of Sciences
Chernogolovka, Moscow Region
+ 7 (095)962-80-74, + 7 (095)962-80-47
arcadii_at_iptm-hpm.ac.ru
14.11.2003
THE NANOTUBE CABLE WILL CONNECT THE EARTH AND THE MOON
Researchers from the Institute of Problems of Microelectronics Technology and
Extra Pure Materials (Russian Academy of Sciences) have designed and tested a
new device for production of a new promising material -- nanotubes. The
researchers believe that it is exactly the material a transport cable can be
produced of to connect the Moon and the Earth.
Back at the beginning of the last century, the idea was born to build a
transport cable between the Earth and the Moon to deliver goods from our planet
to the Moon. Until recently, there has been no material enabling to make this
idea a reality. Polymers would not stand cosmic radiation, and the steel cable
would have enormous weight. The most durable material as of today -- Spectra
1000 -- would allow to produce a cable of only 315 kilometers long, as the
longer cable is simply unable to bear its own weight.
Carbonic nanotubes would very well suit the role of a structural material for
such a cable. According to the researchers' estimates, a lightweight cable of
required length can be produced from this material, the cable being 50 times
stronger than the current most durable materials. The problem is that the
researchers have not learned yet to produce high quality nanotubes in large
quantities: that is either too expensive or feasible only in the laboratory
environment. Therefore, this material is still pretty exotic, its price varying
from $60 through $100 per gram.
The scientists from Chernogolovka have designed a device that allows to produce
pretty large amounts of high quality nanotubes. The device is based on a rather
simple scheme: spirit, glycerin or their mixture gets from a specially cooled
chamber into the zone of graphite heater bar, where the temperature reaches
1000-2000 degrees C. That results in ultraspeed heating and substance
combustion. The products precipitate on a special carbonic glass bell covering
the device, or they are removed outside together with vapors and gases, thus
allowing to protect the product from various unnecessary impacts.
Precipitations of such kind normally contain amorphous carbon, soot and various
particles covered by a shell of carbon, as well as carbon fibre and nanotubes.
However, in this particular case the researchers came across a surprise: the
precipitations obtained in the device turned out to contain only nanotubes and
carbon fibre. No other admixtures were found. It means that a laborious
procedure is not required for rectification from unnecessary compoments. The
fibres are 30-150 nanometers thick, and nanotubes are 20-50 nanometers thick,
their length being several micrometers.
The growth of nanotubes can be accelerated with the help of catalysts -- iron,
nickel, cobalt and gold. If the surface where nanotubes are to be precipitated
is covered with a thin film of such catalyst in the form of some pattern, then
nanotubes will precipitate only upon the pattern, the other parts remaining clean.
In principle, such devices may lay the foundation for industrial production of
nanotubes. Maybe, a nanotube cable will soon connect the Moon and the Earth.
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