carbon nanotubes

7 Stories

Scientists Create 'Super Black' That Our Eye Can't See

Nanotubes absorb 99.96% of light

(Newser) - Imagine an object so black that you could stare right at it and see nothing at all. That object can now exist, thanks to a British nanotechnology company. Surrey Nanosystems has created a new "super black" coating that absorbs 99.96% of light, which is to say, all light...

Scientists Build Computer Out of Atom-Thick Material

It's an important step forward in nanotube development

(Newser) - A team of Stanford scientists has built a working computer out of carbon nanotubes, a nigh-impossible feat that could herald silicon's eventual replacement. Granted, the device (which is named "Cedric," the BBC notes) isn't terribly useful, containing as many transistors as the earliest 1950s computers. But...

Scientists Invent Paint-On Batteries

Spray-painted power source is half a millimeter thick

(Newser) - If you tend to associate spray paint with nefarious behavior involving graffiti, prepare to have your mind blown. Scientists have invented batteries that can be spray painted onto any surface. Researchers at Rice University demoed the new technology by coating steel, glass, and a beer mug with painted-on batteries. "...

Tiny Tubes May Trumpet End of Bulky Loudspeakers

Nanotube technology could allow for speakers on clothes, windows, screens

(Newser) - You may soon be able to add paper-thin speakers to that flat-panel TV, the Economist reports. Scientists have used ultra-tiny carbon nanotubes to make a transparent film that produces sound identical to a signal-carrying current that passes through it. If the technology can be made commercially viable, you might be...

Nanotech Cancer Risk Seen
 Nanotech Cancer Risk Seen 

Nanotech Cancer Risk Seen

Nanotubes, widely used 'wonder particles,' could have asbestos-like effect

(Newser) - Researchers have found that microscopic “wonder particles” used in a small number of materials, including bicycle parts and bumpers, have asbestos-like effects if inhaled, the Los Angeles Times reports. Consumers aren’t really at risk from the carbon nanotubes, but factory workers making the products could be, the researchers...

Really Black Is the New Black
Really Black Is the New Black

Really Black Is the New Black

Scientists create darkest black ever, and it may have practical uses

(Newser) - What's the blackest thing you can think of? If you said a carpet of carbon nanotubes, you probably work with a Rice University team of scientists whose current project is "pushing the limit of how much light can be absorbed into one material." Their new material could lead...

Scientists Roll Out Paper Batteries
Scientists Roll Out Paper Batteries

Scientists Roll Out Paper Batteries

We're hoping for fold-able cell phones

(Newser) - Scientists have come up with a paper-like substance that can act as a power source, Scientific American reports. The thin, flexible substance—composed of cellulose, carbon nanotubes, and liquid salts—can be used as both a battery and a supercapacitor, which can deliver quick bursts of high power. What's more,...

7 Stories
Most Read on Newser