Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon Nanotubes — Terra Invicta technology. The mass production and implementation of ultra-strong, lightweight carbon allotropes.
About Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon Nanotubes is a Terra Invicta technology in Materials with a research cost of 3,500.
The mass production and implementation of ultra-strong, lightweight carbon allotropes.
By furthering our research into the manipulation of carbon atoms, we can now create a new nanostructure that is both far stronger and far lighter than metal. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a new, artificial molecule, consisting of chemically-bonded carbon atoms rolled into a cylinder mere nanometers in diameter. To the naked eye, sufficient quantities of CNTs resemble a powder - one that can then be incorporated into other materials, such as plastics. One of the more obvious applications of this is ultra-lightweight armor and shielding - CNTs can possess 400 times the tensile strength of steel, yet only one-sixth the density. CNTs will thus be of particular benefit to humanity's conquest of the stars. It is believed that they could reduce craft weight by some 30%, while their astounding resilience and thermal deflection properties will greatly ease the pain of orbital re-entry, to name but one of the longstanding problems now potentially solved. There is, in addition, significant potential for the containment of volatile energies, as CNTs are also highly chemically- and radiation-resistant. Wide-scale implementation of carbon nanotubes will be a true game-changer for humanity's future.