"NANO" - TINY TECHNOLOGIES
		INFO BIO NANO MACRO ENVIRO Tiny Technologies at MIT Active Materials and Structures Laboratory Center for Bits and Atoms Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies Microsystems Technology Laboratories Materials Processing Center Microphotonics Center NanoStructures Laboratory Research Laboratory for Electronics			GROWTH OF LONG, STRONG CARBON NANOTUBE FIBERS Alexander Slocum Department of Mechanical Engineering Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes in 1991, applications of carbon nanotube-based materials have been fantasized. Carbon nanotubes have 10-50 times the strength-to-weight ratio of steel, are very flexible, and have outstanding electrical properties over a wide temperature range. However, no one has yet devised a large-scale, cost-effective production method for carbon nanotube fibers � perhaps until now. This research aims to produce continuous, long carbon nanotubes from catalyst bases in microfabricated reactors. A commercially viable technology would have a significant impact on the composite materials and plastics industries, which generate annual revenue of over $100 billion in the United States.
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