NanoDiamond is Now Buckymesh
NanoDiamond is a theoretical material with such an amazing strength-to-weight ratio that it challenges our intuitions about what is physically possible. Michael Richards, the creator of the nanoDiamond idea, recently renamed the material buckymesh, which is definitely an improvement. The term “nanodiamond” is commonly used to refer to small diamonds.
clipped from www.buckymesh.comBuckymesh
clipped from www.buckymesh.comThe Design
Join four short thin nanotubes together, using six saddles, into the shape of a caltrop (or a tetrahedron):
Let's call this a nanojack.
Join two nanojacks together - seen from the side it looks like a strange, two-legged dog; seen from the top it looks like a six-pointed star:
Join ten nanojacks together into (very) roughly the shape of a sphere:
Join a whole bunch of nanojacks together (26 in fact) and you can see the structure is the same as that of
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clipped from www.buckymesh.comUses
Where could we use this material? In theory, assuming that it has a reasonable absolute strength, just about anywhere from skyscrapers and houses to toys and tools. And it could be very inexpensive to make, not counting design and other costs. (See also Configurations.)
clipped from www.buckymesh.comConfigurations
One might think this material would be hard, like steel, and therefore of limited use. However, imagine the effect of varying configurations of the material at one or more of the many scales along which it is built. Consider just a few of the millions of possible arrangements:
For example, compare the sphere with short and medium nanotubes:
It could even be made into approximately fractal dimensional structures, such as 'gaskets' or 'sponges'. (It is nearly a fractal dimensional structure itself.)
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