Carbon nanotubes encased in boron nitride nanotubes.(Surface Engineering)

Single-walled carbon nanotubes that are encased within an outer sheath of boron nitride nanotubes are under development at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California. The nanotube wire is produced when a boron nitride cylinder is packed with buckyballs, then subjected to a ten-minute discharge from an intense beam of electrons. The result is a carbon nanowire conductor enclosed within a boron nitride insulating fiber. According to physicist Dr. Alex Zettl, "Insulation keeps different wires from shorting to each other or to nearby conductors, and will allow ...