NASA Funds 'Miracle Polymer'
NASA will pay Rice University $11 million over the next four years to develop an experimental power cable made from carbon nanotubes, the agency announced Tuesday.
Source: WiredThe cable, also known as a quantum wire, would theoretically conduct electricity up to 10 times better than traditional copper wire and weigh one-sixth as much.
Scientists believe quantum wires could make spacecraft much lighter and more powerful, and may lead to faster computers and other commercial applications.
Under the agreement with NASA, Rice's Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory is to produce a 1-meter-long prototype of quantum wire by 2010. To date, scientists have been able to produce wires no longer than several centimeters.
"This is a small step but a very significant one from our perspective, as we try to develop new technology that will help us as we send humans out from Earth and into space," said Jefferson Howell Jr., director of NASA's Johnson Space Center.
The researchers have no easy task before them. To succeed, they will first have to devise a way to produce perfect carbon nanotubes on demand.
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