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New Carbon-based Paper Stronger Than Nanotubes 166

Posted by CowboyNeal from the house-of-strong-cards dept.
LynnwoodRooster writes "Science Magazine reports that a group from Northwestern University in Illinois has a new process for creating carbon-based paper that's stronger than nanotubes, and incredibly easy to use to make sheets of any desired sizes. Huge implications for aircraft, automobiles, and the ever-sought-after space elevator?"
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New Carbon-based Paper Stronger Than Nanotubes More

New Carbon-based Paper Stronger Than Nanotubes

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  • The end of a generation of excuses (Score:5, Funny)

    by MrNaz ( 730548 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @12:11PM (#20023671) Homepage
    Now try claiming your dog ate your homework!
  • I'd hate to see the kind of paper cut you could get from that thing.

  • Gives a new meaning to the word... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dpbsmith ( 263124 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @12:16PM (#20023711) Homepage
    ..."carbon paper."

    • I wonder how many /.ers are too young to even know what you're talking about? :)

      (Yeah, I know there are still places where it's used - probably.)

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Migraineman ( 632203 )
        My wife still keeps a typewriter ... "just in case." I'm not sure what she's preparing for, as the ribbon is certainly dried out, so typing is not the reason. Perhaps she could brandish it in a threatening manner should the need arise. The typewriter has been in a box for at least the last 10 years. I believe there's a box of carbon paper inserts to go with it. I gotta remember to shuttle that crap to the dump when she's not looking.

        I wonder if anyone remembers those wonderful blue Mimeograph [wikipedia.org] machine

        • Re:I wonder how many /.ers... (Score:4, Informative)

          by CastrTroy ( 595695 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @03:03PM (#20025091)
          I'm 27 and we used Mimeographs (Ditto Machines). There were really good because the teachers could make cheap handouts with them, much cheaper than using a photocopier. Granted they didn't look quite as nice as a photocopier, but they sure smelled a lot better.
          • They used to use ditto machines when I was in Elementary school. Those things were hideous with their awful purple/blue color, and were often so light as to be almost illegible. The switched to photo copiers right around when I turned 10 or so. I remember being impressed by how much nicer they were.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by inKubus ( 199753 )
            I think you are getting mimeographs confused with the Spirit duplicator machine. With the purple copies. And the smell.

        • It's worth something as a collectible? That's not actually that far-fetched, any more. (My Mom has a manual typewriter that she keeps - as a conversation piece, mainly. I actually wrote a few papers on that beast when I was in elementary school.)

          • Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)

            by FLEB ( 312391 )
            I doubt it. From what I've read, they have to be quite old, and/or be a unique model in order to get much more worth out of it than the annoyance cost of storage. Also, marginally common models can lack value unless they're cleaned and readjusted.

            I've got a few typewriters sitting around, but they're rather common models. Even the interesting and antique-looking Royal Portable, I found, was produced for a wide range of years (mine comes, IIRC, from the late '30s or early '40s) and has little collectible val

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mstahl ( 701501 )

        (Yeah, I know there are still places where it's used - probably.)

        Every time you CC (carbon-copy) someone on an email. That's when the little email gnomes use carbon paper to make more copies of your emails.

  • Water (Score:5, Interesting)

    by l33t.g33k ( 903780 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @12:16PM (#20023715)
    TFA states that water is the "kryptonite" of the superstrong paper. Doesn't that kill its practicality in things like planes and automobiles? If it rains, then you could have a major catastrophe on your hands...

    • Re:Water (Score:5, Insightful)

      by flawedgeek ( 833708 ) <karldnorman&gmail,com> on Saturday July 28, 2007 @12:19PM (#20023741)
      It's possible that it could be impregnated with some sort of resin, making it more of a carbon fiber, just a ton stronger .

      • Re:Water (Score:5, Interesting)

        by DynaSoar ( 714234 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @02:29PM (#20024761) Journal
        > It's possible that it could be impregnated with some sort of resin, making it more of a carbon fiber, just a ton stronger .

        That's the usual practice for making composites for structures and vehicles. Epoxy is the resin of choice. Using epoxy with this material as opposed to woven carbon material will result in very little weight difference, but if this stuff will be that much cheaper, great. Here's my source for making rocket parts; check the prices per yard: http://www.aerosleeves.com/Carbon_Fiber_Biaxial_Sl eeving_p/cf-slv.htm [aerosleeves.com]
        There's also a recurring shortage andd thus price fluctuations due to supply problems with the raw fiber. A new material with roughly the same characteristics but without the supply problems would be very nice too.

        Epoxy would also make them fairly water resistant after curing. Topping that with acrylic completes that job and makes for a pretty finish too. That doesn't solve the manufacturing problem. I hope they come up with a solution (har...) that's not an environment unfriendly solvent.

      • It's possible that it could be impregnated with some sort of resin, making it more of a carbon fiber, just a ton stronger .
        So now we'll be using hairspray on structures and vehicles too? Guess they'll have to automate that one, otherwise people may get high or overwhelmed by those fumes...

        It does work pretty well on artwork, though.

    • Re:Water (Score:4, Insightful)

      by MrNaz ( 730548 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @12:20PM (#20023749) Homepage
      Not sure if you're aware of this, but they have invented other things that could be used to cover it. Like this new stuff called "plastic". They could use "plastic" cladding to protect carbon nanopaper from "rain".

      • Re:Water (Score:5, Insightful)

        by misleb ( 129952 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @01:10PM (#20024039)
        Sure, but one nick in the plastic coating and the paper is compromised. That's certainly not something I'd be anxious to fly around with. No, wait, it WOULD make me anxious to fly around with that covering the plane. Maybe if you could somehow infuse the paper with a water proofing...

         

        • Re:Water (Score:5, Informative)

          by kimvette ( 919543 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @03:20PM (#20025251) Homepage Journal
          Didn't early airplanes use either paper or silk for the skin, rather than metal? All they had to do to make characteristics of the medium more desirable (weatherproof, taught) was to "dope" the medium, which involved painting on a coating. Many model RC aircraft still use that technology today.

          It's no different than any other composite. Silk is still an extremely attractive (oops, no pun intended) medium for composites, but very expensive compared to carbon fiber, kevlar, and fiberglass cloths. But, with any of those modern materials used in composites, the tensile strength is one thing, but torsional stiffness is nonexistent, and the materials are not waterproof. Resin by itself has extremely good torsional strength, but very little tensile strength and is very brittle. So, the solution is to make a sandwich of materials with each desirable characteristic, resulting in a composite material which will have the most desirable characteristics of each composite component, but without the undesirable characteristics. Carbon fibre is protected from UV, water, and abrasion by the epoxy (and usually a additional layer of protection using acrylic, lacquer, or other coating - in other words paint), and the resin provides torsional stiffnes by itself AND by bonding several layers of the cloth together, which utilizes the tensile strength of each composite to further increase torsional strength without becoming brittle.

          Why should paper be any different? The bonding techniques will be different, sure, but this discovery is the first step. The next step is to either devise a new bonding process which is as reliable as "conventional" composites, or to find a way to use this process to develop new fibers which can be used in conventional composite construction techniques.

          It would be interesting to see how this development affects experimental aircraft. Can a Long-EZ or Cozy MkIV be made lighter with this new material, without sacrificing airframe strength and without lengthening build time?

          • Re:Water (Score:5, Informative)

            by florescent_beige ( 608235 ) on Sunday July 29, 2007 @12:17AM (#20029157) Journal

            Didn't early airplanes use either paper or silk for the skin, rather than metal? All they had to do to make characteristics of the medium more desirable (weatherproof, taught) was to "dope" the medium...

            It also rots. My neighbour had a Pacer [abacuspub.com] whose fabric rotted out and he had to get the wing recovered.

            Silk is still an extremely attractive (oops, no pun intended) medium for composites...

            Silk is often referred to as "stronger than steel". That may be true per unit density (strength/weight), it really doesn't matter because silk is useless as a structural due to it's low stiffness. Young's modulus is around 100 or 200 MPA, whereas aluminum is about 70,000 and steel is 200,000.

            But, with any of those modern materials used in composites, the tensile strength is one thing, but torsional stiffness is nonexistent...

            There is no such thing as the torsional strength of a material. Structures have torsional strength, not materials. Materials have shear strength, and the shear strength of even the very very best polymers are negligible compared to common structural materials. The shear strength of common high-performance epoxies used in aircraft composites are maybe 5 ksi when you account for moisture absorption and service temperature, whereas 2024 aluminum is maybe 30 ksi.

            Resin by itself has extremely good torsional strength, but very little tensile strength and is very brittle...

            Resin doesn't have good "torsional" (shear) strength, it has bad shear strength. Ditto for the tensile strength. Again, compared to most structural materials, most polymers (resins) have high elongation to failure but that varies widely depending on the amount of crosslinking of the hydrocarbon chains. Within the epoxies, you can formulate ones that have low crosslinking and stretch like bubblegum, or you can crosslink the bejeepers out of them and create glass. It depends on the chemistry.

            Carbon fibre is protected from UV, water, and abrasion by the epoxy (and usually a additional layer of protection using acrylic, lacquer, or other coating - in other words paint)...

            Actually, the resin together with the fibers forms a microstructure that becomes a material continuum from the macro perspective. That is, the composite is actually a structure on a microscopic scale, but from an engineering point of view it is viewed as a material with properties derived using classical lamination theory [efunda.com]. So the purpose of the matrix (resin) is structural, you could say to support the fibers that carry the actual load. The paint is required to protect the matrix from UV and moisture as most polymers are susceptible to both.

            ...and the resin provides torsional stiffness by itself AND by bonding several layers of the cloth together, which utilizes the tensile strength of each composite to further increase torsional strength without becoming brittle.

            The resin doesn't provide any of the stiffness, the fibers do all that, the resin (matrix) supports the fibers so they can do their job. The shear stiffness and strength of the laminate stack come from plies at 45 degrees to the load application direction. Mohr's circle [efunda.com] for pure shear tells us that you get pure tension and compression in the 45 degree directions, which the fibers can carry. It's quite clever and is the classic example of structural tailoring.

            Why should paper be any different?

            A million reasons. How resistant the material is to delamination would be my first question. Hidden delamination and it's effect on compression strength was carbon/epoxy's Achilles heel for a long time. Getting the matrix (epoxy?)

        • No need to worry, you won't fly in the stuff, they'll just use it to make the next space shuttle.

        • Moisture (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Mark_MF-WN ( 678030 )
          Anyone else thinking "spacecraft"? As I understand it, there's not much moisture in space. This graphene-oxide paper might not be a suitable hull material, but it could be very useful for internal structure.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Not if it's used in a composite. Ordinary carbon fibre isn't too good in water either - but that would be why it's embedded in an epoxy (or other) matrix...

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by MonorailCat ( 1104823 )
      Steel rusts too, thats why we paint it. If either a paint or coating can be used with it, or if its water solubility can be solved, this could be a huge development.

    • TFA states that water is the "kryptonite" of the superstrong paper. Doesn't that kill its practicality in things like planes and automobiles?

      Carbon fiber is a floppy woven cloth that can be cut with scissors, but that doesn't stop people from building planes, cayaks, and golf club shafts with the stuff by making a composite with epoxy.

      Carbon fiber is great stuff- its main failing is that nobody can make the stuff fast enough (or manufacturers are intentionally not ramping up capacity to milk the aeros

    • Kevlar (Score:5, Informative)

      by Guppy ( 12314 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @01:59PM (#20024465)

      TFA states that water is the "kryptonite" of the superstrong paper. Doesn't that kill its practicality in things like planes and automobiles? If it rains, then you could have a major catastrophe on your hands...
      This is exactly the same mechanism that causes Kevlar [wikipedia.org] to lose strength when wet. The strength of the material is in large part dependent on hydrogen bonding between the polymer chains. Water also forms hydrogen bonds, and so it can insert itself between them, weakening the material.
      • How quickly does Kevlar lose strength in water? I checked the manufacturers data, and they indicated no significant loss within about a year or so (although all bets are off at high or low Ph). This graphene oxide stuff sounds like it seriously can't take water in a major way though.

        • I don't know what data you looked at, it's probably an immersion test at room temp after which they tested tensile strength. Kevlar has fabulous tensile strength, that's not its problem.

          There aren't any obvious references I can find, so you will just have to trust me on this, Kevlar's compressive strength, which is low to begin with, goes to hell after moisture absorption and at high service temp. Typically an aircraft part has to withstand 125 degrees F.

          The combination of high tensile strength and low

    • Carbon fiber is formed using a resin as would this material. Tada waterproof!!

    • Re:Water (Score:5, Informative)

      by evilviper ( 135110 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @03:44PM (#20025435) Journal

      TFA states that water is the "kryptonite" of the superstrong paper. Doesn't that kill its practicality in things like planes and automobiles?

      Not in the slightest. It just won't be a drop-in replacement for aluminum.

      All materials have their strengths and weaknesses. Think of something more like a house... Wood doesn't do too well with water, so the roof is coated with weak, non-structural materials like asphalt shingles or tile. In fact most structural building materials don't do too well with exposure to water and are shielded in some way.

      It's not hard to imagine this carbon paper being used to construct structural beams of airplanes and automobiles, being coated with rubber or tar for last-line protection, and having the skin made of other materials that aren't at all susceptible to water (aluminum, fiberglass, or composites).

      Of course, we don't know that is going to be an issue to begin with. They seem to be looking into materials other than water to bond the carbon, so this could all be a moot point.

    • TFA states that water is the "kryptonite" of the superstrong paper.

      Doesn't that kill its practicality in things like planes and automobiles? If it rains, then you could have a major catastrophe on your hands...

      I'm surprised you read that far and then stopped. From TFA:

      So, the next task is to find other molecules that can replace water in the fabrication process. That research challenge and others probably puts commercialization of the technology at least 5 or 10 years away, Ruoff says.

    • Apparently you're not very familiar with our good friend "steel".

      I kid, I kid. Obviously steel's vulnerability to water takes place on a vastly different scale of time and affect.

      Still, it does suggest that if this graphene-oxide paper is sufficiently advantageous in some domain (as you say, probably NOT aerojets and automocars), then means could be found to protect it from moisture. Right of the top of my head, the idea of spacecraft comes to mind. I wonder how much moisture makes it up to a low-ear

  • Just imagine... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Megane ( 129182 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @12:19PM (#20023737)
    Just imagine what Yomiko Readman could do with that paper!
  • I thought they are made up of Carbon, too...

  • Coat it in Teflon! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by CrazyDuke ( 529195 )

    The sheets remain stable when exposed to air, says Ruoff, but immersing them in water slowly loosens the bonds. Also, says materials scientist Boris Yakobson of Rice University in Houston, Texas, because water is so common as either liquid as rain or vapor as humidity, it will likely affect graphene sheets exposed to the environment in the long run if the material can't be protected from water's effects.

    Coat it in teflon. Teflon stretches very easily and is water tight.

  • finally (Score:3, Funny)

    by SolusSD ( 680489 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @12:27PM (#20023787) Homepage
    maybe now we can put important documents on paper that can't be so easily and convienantly shredded by (unamed) corporation.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Omerna ( 241397 )
      IDIOTIC.

      Anyone who's going to be shredding documents wouldn't use unshreddable paper.
    • I'm not sure, but I'll bet this carbon paper cuts quite easily. As mentioned above, carbon fiber can be cut with scissors. Tensile strength doesn't help much against a sharp blade.

  • On the radio (Score:4, Funny)

    by MGSnake ( 1134109 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @12:38PM (#20023847)
    Otacon, my new cardboard box is ready.

  • Strong, but not strong enough. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Orange Crush ( 934731 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @12:42PM (#20023863)

    Huge implications for . . . the ever-sought-after space elevator?

    Sadly, no. TFA links to the actual paper [northwestern.edu]. Tensile strength is on the order of 35 GPa. We'd need 65 GPa or more from a material with density similar to graphite.

    • TFA links to the actual paper [northwestern.edu]. Tensile strength is on the order of 35 GPa. We'd need 65 GPa or more from a material with density similar to graphite.

      It's not even that good. The tensile strength [wikipedia.org] is ~130 MPa. It's the Young's modulus [wikipedia.org] that's 32 GPa.

      So we're still short a factor of 500x from space-elevator-grade unobtanium.

  • Next up (Score:2)

    by Kythe ( 4779 )
    Naturally, then, the next goal is to produce a material that's stronger than paper.

  • Bwuahaha (Score:2, Funny)

    by hlomas ( 1010351 )
    Now to make people look foolish by challenging them to break out of a wet paper bag!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by nagora ( 177841 )
      Now to make people look foolish by challenging them to break out of a wet paper bag!

      From TFA: "Also, says materials scientist Boris Yakobson of Rice University in Houston, Texas, because water is so common as either liquid as rain or vapor as humidity, it will [probably] affect graphene sheets exposed to the environment in the long run if the material can't be protected from water's effects."

      Sorry.

      TWW

  • . . . of toilet paper that can't stand up to the vigorous wiping of cyborgs, kryptonians, and super-muscled mutants.
  • About the water immersion problem, why not make the sheets like newspaper paper? By using giant rollers. As the Nano-paper is "created", roll the paper up above the water. Then move the roll of paper to some type of Anodizing tank and unroll it to coat the paper. I think this may be an excellent Robotics application. I am figuring the chemicals used here would be immediately lethal, but it could clean your carpet nicely.

  • New Army Body Armor (Score:5, Funny)

    by Charcharodon ( 611187 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @12:50PM (#20023923)
    In latest news, after years of frustrating requests for new gear that have gone unfull-filled . Troops in the field resorted to putting thousands of Post-it notes on their Humvees and on their old body army.

    Pvt Parts was quoted "Yeah they're crap for camouflage and look fucking stupid, that and some joker keeps writing "I luv the cock" and sticking it on my back, but man do they stop the bullets."

    Also in the news FBI has arrested three men with suspected terrorist links in an Office Depot this morning, trying to buy three pallets of inkjet paper without having proper I.D. nor the required Federal permits to make the purchase.

  • What about scissors (Score:5, Funny)

    by Bender0x7D1 ( 536254 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @01:07PM (#20024021)

    Does this mean that paper beats rock AND scissors now?

  • 140MPa is similar to brass, not nanotubes (Score:5, Interesting)

    by viking80 ( 697716 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @01:11PM (#20024043) Journal
    The tensile strength is about 140 MPa according to TFA. This is similar to brass and far below carbon nanotubes at 63 GPa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensile_strength [wikipedia.org]
  • I am much more interested in the story concerning paper not based on carbon.
  • will never be the same again...

  • nanotube paper, not nanotubes (Score:3, Informative)

    by Goldsmith ( 561202 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @01:46PM (#20024353)
    That headline should read "... stronger than nanotube paper", not nanotubes. Why that's a good benchmark for strength, I have no idea. It's generally used as a filter. It's like saying cotton plants are stronger than trees because cotton paper is stronger than normal paper.

  • Paper Is Already "Carbon-Based" (Score:5, Funny)

    by aldheorte ( 162967 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @01:59PM (#20024471)
    Trees claim prior art. News at 11.

  • Another Use (Score:3, Interesting)

    by DynaSoar ( 714234 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @03:00PM (#20025065) Journal
    Cheap, disposable, puncture resistant gloves for short term handling of biohazardous materials, particularly used syringe needles. Those would better protect health care workers from things like hepatitis C. Latex protects against the virus, but needles go right through it. Hep C treatment is painful, nauseating, fatiguing, causes depression and rage outbursts, makes your hair fall out, is very expensive (alpha interferon + ribavirin; around US$10,000: http://www.hepnet.com/hepc/DDW99/HCVSGP/wong.html [hepnet.com]) and is depressingly ineffective against the primary genome of that virus that's found in the US. Since hep C usually has few symptoms if any outwardly until very advanced, infected health care workers can spread the disease unknowingly. One layer of this with latex coating would save some lives, not to mention a lot of money for treatment. That savings would make up for the development costs.

  • Research paper in Nature (Score:4, Informative)

    by FleaPlus ( 6935 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @03:40PM (#20025407) Journal
    For those interested, here's the news@nature article [nature.com], as well as the original research paper [nature.com]. Here's a paste of the abstract:

    Preparation and characterization of graphene oxide paper

    Dmitriy A. Dikin1, Sasha Stankovich1, Eric J. Zimney1, Richard D. Piner1, Geoffrey H. B. Dommett1, Guennadi Evmenenko2, SonBinh T. Nguyen3 & Rodney S. Ruoff1

    Free-standing paper-like or foil-like materials are an integral part of our technological society. Their uses include protective layers, chemical filters, components of electrical batteries or supercapacitors, adhesive layers, electronic or optoelectronic components, and molecular storage1. Inorganic 'paper-like' materials based on nanoscale components such as exfoliated vermiculite or mica platelets have been intensively studied2, 3 and commercialized as protective coatings, high-temperature binders, dielectric barriers and gas-impermeable membranes4,5. Carbon-based flexible graphite foils5, 6, 7 composed of stacked platelets of expanded graphite have long been used8, 9 in packing and gasketing applications because of their chemical resistivity against most media, superior sealability over a wide temperature range, and impermeability to fluids. The discovery of carbon nanotubes brought about bucky paper10, which displays excellent mechanical and electrical properties that make it potentially suitable for fuel cell and structural composite applications11, 12, 13, 14. Here we report the preparation and characterization of graphene oxide paper, a free-standing carbon-based membrane material made by flow-directed assembly of individual graphene oxide sheets. This new material outperforms many other paper-like materials in stiffness and strength. Its combination of macroscopic flexibility and stiffness is a result of a unique interlocking-tile arrangement of the nanoscale graphene oxide sheets.

  • Electrical properties (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Mal-2 ( 675116 ) on Saturday July 28, 2007 @04:43PM (#20025963) Homepage Journal
    Is this any better than plain old graphite for electrical conductivity, and more like pure graphene? If so, it could be very useful in places that won't get wet (which would include most existing electrical applications). It would be more useful still if it cold be applied dry with something like a pencil, then the solvent (which could still be water) would be applied. This would make home-brewed printed circuit boards much simpler and much less hazardous to create. No more resist masks and acid dipping.

    Mal-2

  • foretold by William Gibson in "Virtual Light" (Score:4, Interesting)

    by spage ( 73271 ) <spage&skierpage,com> on Saturday July 28, 2007 @06:48PM (#20026953)

    Under its coat of spray-on imitation rust and an artful bandaging of silver duct-tape, the geometry of the paper-cored, carbon-wrapped frame makes Chevette's thighs tremble. There's a little double zik as the particle-brakes let go, then she's up and on it.

    (Chevette the bike messenger is a precursor to Jessica Alba's Max in Dark Angel.

  • "Also, says materials scientist Boris Yakobson of Rice University in Houston, Texas, because water is so common as either liquid as rain or vapor as humidity, it will likely affect graphene sheets exposed to the environment in the long run if the material can't be protected from water's effects."

    LMAO

    KeS
  • May be a reason why power plants will work towards cleanup their coal/natural gas? Nah.
  • Nanotubes and other graphites were showing ability to transport electrons nicely. I wonder if this can be used to form flexible wiring as well? If so, this could change how we do mobos in a BIG way.
  • Ordinary paper doesn't stand up to exposure to water either.

    But laminate it in a protective coating, like most people's birth certificates, and it will last a lifetime.

    Carbon fibre is often used laminated with a resin, similar to fibreglass. The carbon fibre has the strength, the resin gives it the structure.

    It sounds like the new carbon paper could do the same thing, but will be stronger and cheaper.

  • ...enough said, though I wouldn't want to risk a paper cut down there.
  • All the concerns aside about this being not quite up to carbon nanotube strength, and dissolving when exposed to water, it seems to me that there are still a number of applications for something like this -- e.g., replacing stamped steel car bodies with painted paper. It reduces weight, reduces cost, and is possibly recyclable.

    I'm sure there are a number of other applications as well -- stiffeners for notebook computer shells springs to mind, where the "carbon paper" is inside the plastic shell (literally
  • I thought they could only grow them a few millimeters long and what passes for nanotubes is a polymer of the microtubes. Still very amazing material however.

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