Narrowest carbon nanotubes made in Japan, Hong Kong

from the smaller-is-better-IF-its-stable dept.
Senior Associate GinaMiller points out an item from BBC News: "Scientists have created what they say are the narrowest, stable, carbon nanotubes. The tiny cylinders measure just 0.4 nanometres (0.4 billionths of a metre) in diameter. The structures are essentially tubular versions of buckminsterfullerene, the closed cages of carbon atoms that look like soccer balls. Carbon nanotubes have generated huge excitement because of their very interesting electrical and mechanical properties…Researchers believe the 0.4-nanometre-sized tubes mark a theoretical limit."