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Another widely found application in nanotechnology is of carbon nanotube.Nano researchers and scientists have found great application of carbon nanotube in future technologies and amazing possibilities.It is also known as Bucky tube as it is made from buckyball.

Hows is it made? Carbon nanotube is actually extensions of  buckyballs without their ends closing.Buckyball are joined in a row and their overlapping region is truncated which will create a hollow pipe like carbon structure,known as nanotube.Richard smalley conceptualized this nanotube.In 1991,Sumio tijima of NEC laboratory fused buckyballs and actually portrayed the picture of carbon nanotube.

There are 2 types of nanotubes

Photo:From wikipedia

(i) SWNT-Single wall nanotube is made up of only single cylinder type structure.(the figure above)

(ii) MWNT-Multi walled nanotube is made up of several nanotubes of varying diameter,arranged one over the other.

PROPERTIES OF CARBON NANOTUBES:

(1) Strength: Carbon nanotubes possess high tensile strength.The tensile strength of carbon nanotube is 100 time than steel ! .This is due to covalent bonds that exists between carbon-carbon atoms.But at the same time they are elastic in nature such that they can be bent like rubber ! Now it means that something 100 times stronger than steel bending like rubber.

(2) Thermal conductivity: Carbon nanotubes have exceptional conductivity of heat and electricity.It has 10 times more thermal conductivity than silver element.The atoms of the nanotube are in dynamic stage where carbon atoms are continuously transmitting the heat among themselves.Though it is stiff,it is still very elastic !