small talks: talks by students, for students <style type="text/css">  </style> </head> <body> <center>  <a href="http://dmse.mit.edu/"><img border=0 src="course3.jpg"></a> <a href="http://web.mit.edu/gso/faq/studentlifefee.html"><img border=0 src="gso.jpg"></a>  <a href="index.shtml"><b><font size=7><font color=black>small</font>TALKS</font><b></a> <a href="http://mtlweb.mit.edu/researchgroups/mems/"><img border=0 src="memsatmit.jpg"></a> <a href="http://rleweb.mit.edu/"><img border=0 src="rle.jpg"></a> <br> ♦ <i>talks by students, for students</i> ♦<br> Wednesdays, 4pm, 6-104<br> <a href="sponsors.shtml">sponsors</a><br> <a href="about.shtml">about small talks</a> </center> <p> 10.04.2006: Dr. John Hart (MechE)<br> <i>Adventures in Carbon Nanotube Growth</i><br> <h4>Abstract:</h4> Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are long molecular structures having exceptional mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. I will briefly introduce the fundamental basis of these properties, and present the mechanism and method of CNT synthesis by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Effective choice of the catalyst composition and processing conditions enables growth of tangled mats or aligned “forests” of CNTs on various substrates including silicon wafers, ceramic fibers, and metal foils. Building from these basic processes, we have used mechanical forces to structure CNTs during growth, created a new reactor apparatus which enables in situ measurement of the film growth kinetics, and combined CNTs with carbon fibers for interlaminar reinforcement of composite structures …altogether stretching our imagination and its applications from the atomic scale to the airplane scale and beyond. <p><p> <center> <small>Questions? Comments? Would you like to give a small talk?<br> [small-talks at mike india tango dot edu]<br> Oh, and sign up for our <a href="http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/small-talks-announce">announce list</a>! :)</small> </center> </body> </html>