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− | '''Carbon nanotubes''' (CNTs) are [[allotropes of carbon]]. Such cylindrical carbon [[molecule]]s have novel [[chemical property|properties]] that make them potentially useful in many applications in [[nanotechnology]], [[electronics]], [[optics]] and other fields of [[materials science]]. They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique [[electricity|electrical]] properties, and are efficient [[heat conduction|conductors of heat]]. [[Inorganic nanotube]]s have also been synthesized.
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− | Nanotubes are members of the [[fullerene]] structural family, which also includes [[Buckyball#Buckminsterfullerene|buckyballs]]. Whereas buckyballs are [[sphere|spherical]] in shape, a nanotube is [[cylinder (geometry)|cylindrical]], with at least one end typically capped with a hemisphere of the buckyball structure. Their name is derived from their size, since the diameter of a nanotube is in the order of a few nanometers (approximately 1/50,000th of the width of a human hair), while they can be up to several millimeters in length which gives them a length-to-diameter ratio exceeding 1,000,000 to 1. Nanotubes can be [[#Single-walled|single-walled]] (SWNTs) or [[#Multi-walled|multi-walled]] (MWNTs) where they are stacked one inside the other like [[russian dolls]].
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