
New Form of Carbon is Stronger Than Graphene and Diamond - qubitsam
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/518301/new-form-of-carbon-is-stronger-than-graphene-and-diamond/
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Symmetry
"They agree that two chains in contact can react but there is an activation
barrier that prevents this happening readily." So, it's really strong but if
it ever actually breaks it will explode?

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TwiztidK
So it's slightly similar to Prince Rupert's Drops, where part of the drop is
extremely strong but if the weaker part is broken the whole thing explodes.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Rupert's_Drop](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Rupert's_Drop)

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acadien
The mutual frustration imposed in PRDs is due to how it cools and the
mechanics of a bulk state (tension on the surface and positive pressure in the
core).

What they're talking about in this paper is a chemically reactive state which
is avoided due to an energy barrier. They're totally different situations, but
I can understand why you'd think they might be similar from the wording of the
article.

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jlgreco
> _a chemically reactive state which is avoided do to an energy barrier._

So sort of like how gunpowder is stable unless you introduce enough energy to
get it over the hump?

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ars
Yes.

Basically it's flammable with an ignition temperature right around room
temperature. If we can keep it cold it might have some uses.

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thret
Carbyne and other myths about carbon

[http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2010/November/Carby...](http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2010/November/CarbyneOtherMythsAboutCarbon.asp)

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CountHackulus
That article is from years ago, and this current article is based on a paper
published a few weeks ago. Science advances.

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ChuckMcM
Actually not so much. Reading the article it talks about the difference
between trying to infer the possibility from the reality, and the OP is a
theoretical result. Basically this stuff has never been seen "for real" as far
as we (and scholar.google.com) seem to know.

I did learn something new though, which is the exothermic properties of
carbyne re-assembling itself into more stable configurations is pretty
amazing. If nothing else, if you _could_ make carbyne and stabilize it, and
then destabilize it on demand, it would make for a heck of an explosive and
one with presumably no nitrogen atoms. The implications of that are pretty
obvious.

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Daniel_Newby
The implication is that we design a carbyne detector and get filthy rich
selling it to the Department of Fatherland Carbyne.

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ChuckMcM
Heh, I _like_ that idea. Since its highly improbable anyone will make one
anytime soon, we can sell them a detector with meters and lights and screens
maybe for millions of dollars, which can't detect anything but will have a
perfect success record!

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cyphersanctus
Apparently all of the carbyne related domains where available and then
registered by someone soon after this was posted.

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fudged71
Squatters confuse and irritate me.

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vaadu
"New Form of Carbon is Stronger Than Graphene and Diamond" "Chemists have
calculated ... carbyne, should be stronger and stiffer than any known
material"

So which is it, 'it is stronger' or 'it should be stronger'?

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lutusp
> So which is it, 'it is stronger' or 'it should be stronger'?

That language simply acknowledges that to date, the work is mostly theoretical
-- they don't have enough material to perform empirical measurements. Another
way to say it is that it's theoretically stronger, and it will probably be
stronger in reality as well.

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mistercow
I expect better writing from MIT Technology Review than to say something as
vague as "stronger than diamond". I assume that they mean tensile strength,
but it's important to actually _say_ that.

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anigbrowl
_Just as impressive is the new material’s strength. Liu and co calculate that
it takes around 10 nanoNewtons to break a single strand of carbyne. “This
force translates into a specific strength of 6.0–7.5×10^7 N∙m /kg, again
significantly outperforming every known material including graphene
(4.7–5.5×10^7 N∙m/ kg), carbon nanotubes (4.3–5.0×10^7 N∙m/ kg), and diamond
(2.5–6.5×10”7 N∙m/kg4),” they say._

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oh_teh_meows
Since two chains of carbine coming in contact would explode, should the
activation barrier be crossed, does this mean we can only use one chain at a
time...i.e. no stringing together multiple chains to make something like
say...the cable for a space elevator?

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ars
Unless we can keep it cold. An "activation barrier" is just another way of
saying you need to heat it to make it burn.

Or in other words: It's flammable, and the ignition temperature is right
around room temperature.

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oh_teh_meows
So we might need some sort of active cooling mechanism, considering how a
space elevator cable, afaik, has to be anchored near the equator, which is
typically hotter than room temperature? What if the cooling fails? I don't
know much about QM or the chemistry of carbynes, but is it possible for some
electrons to spontaneously jump over the activation barrier (despite being
cooled) and start off some chain reaction that could jeopardize the entire
space elevator cable?

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ars
> but is it possible for some electrons to spontaneously jump over the
> activation barrier (despite being cooled) and start off some chain reaction

Probably not, because if they could then ordinary things would spontaneously
catch fire too. (Maybe they do??)

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Fuxy
Wish nanotechnology would progress faster I'm really excited about the
potential applications of these new materials.

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angersock
The only real application at the moment is securing additional grant funding.

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nakedrobot2
Carbyne? Good grief. What is coming next? Carbone, Carbonne, Carboon,
Carborola?

OK, joking aside. I am still waiting for Graphene to become used in _any_
commercial application at all. For all its hype, nothing has been seen yet. Is
it not yet economical to produce?

When might Carbyne become used commercially, and what are the steps needed
between now and that time?

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DasIch
Molecules are given names after very specific rules, which allow you to
identify the structure from the name alone. Those are not just made up by
bored chemists.

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Roboprog
So, no Corbomite next?

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Corbomite_Maneuver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Corbomite_Maneuver)

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rorrr2
I'm still waiting for cheap sheets of graphene.

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svantana
What are you going to do once you get that cheap sheet of graphene?

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rorrr2
I'd build stuff from them. Surf boards, bulletproof shirts and pants,
whatever.

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Daniel_Newby
Let's wait and see if it is the next chrysotile asbestos.

