Laundering does not seem to affect its conductivity much either.Electrically conductive cloth is all very well, but the more interesting part of Dr Cui's research is that he can use the new material to make something called a supercapacitor.
The energy difference between the valence levels and the conduction band has a strong influence on the conductivity of these materials, with a smaller gap resulting in higher conduction at lower temperatures.
The carbon nanotubes are there to conduct electricity.The smart bit is that the tubes' conductivity is affected by cracks in, or corrosion of, the painted surface.
If you compress electrically conductive concrete, the fibres get slightly closer together, increasing the concrete's electrical conductivity.
If inundated by chloride ions, as a result of corrosion by salt water, their conductivity increases.
That suggests the particles are changing the structure of the water itself in ways that improve its conductivity.
This, in turn, causes the conductivity of the nanotubes to change, by an amount characteristic of each gas.It is here that the amines come into their own.
"But our experience with 802.11b shows that it is never too early".To get the ball rolling, the IEEE is searching for a standard way to characterise the electrical conductivity of carbon nanotubes microscopic,superstrong cylinders of carbon atoms which (among other things) might one day replace the silicon in semiconductors.
Adding carbon fibre is, he says, an expensive way to increase the conductivity of concrete.
But for the engineers who design those chips, silicon's conductivity is also a nuisance.
The electric field at the gate alters the conductivity of a second part of the transistor called the channel.
