Monomolecular wire: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Single strand of atoms or molecules}} |
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'''Monomolecular wire''' is a type of wire consisting of a single strand of strongly bonded atoms or molecules, like [[carbon nanotube]]s. |
'''Monomolecular wire''' is a type of wire consisting of a single strand of strongly bonded atoms or molecules, like [[carbon nanotube]]s. |
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{{expand section|date=January 2018}} |
{{expand section|date=January 2018}} |
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[[File:Ag atomic wire.jpg|thumb|200px|The process of forming a monatomic silver wire.]] |
[[File:Ag atomic wire.jpg|thumb|200px|The process of forming a monatomic silver wire.]] |
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Organic molecular wires have been proposed for use in [[optoelectronics]].<ref>{{Citation|author = Laurens D. A. Siebbeles, Ferdinand C. Grozema|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dTqZJKZ-r0EC|title = Charge and Exciton Transport through Molecular Wires|date = July 18, 2011|accessdate = January 27, 2014}}</ref> |
Organic molecular wires have been proposed for use in [[optoelectronics]].<ref>{{Citation|author = Laurens D. A. Siebbeles, Ferdinand C. Grozema|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dTqZJKZ-r0EC|title = Charge and Exciton Transport through Molecular Wires|date = July 18, 2011|isbn = 9783527633098|accessdate = January 27, 2014}}</ref> |
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[[Silver]] is ductile enough to be stretched into a monatomic wire.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.5772/62288 |isbn=978-953-51-2252-4 |chapter=Combined Transmission Electron Microscopy – In situ Observation of the Formation Process and Measurement of Physical Properties for Single Atomic-Sized Metallic Wires |author=Masuda, Hideki |title=Modern Electron Microscopy in Physical and Life Sciences |editor=Janecek, Milos |editor2=Kral, Robert |publisher=InTech |year=2016}}</ref> |
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==In fiction== |
==In fiction== |
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Among the earliest descriptions of a super-strong filament are the film ''[[The Man in the White Suit]]'', in which a scientist develops a monofilament cloth fibre that will never wear out, and [[Theodore Sturgeon|Theodore Sturgeon's]] "The Incubi of Parallel X" (Planet Stories, Sep 1951),<ref>{{cite web |title=The Incubi of Parallel X |url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?56319 |website=The Internet Speculative Fiction Database |publisher=IFSDB |accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref> where a "molecularly condensed fibre" is used as a zipline.<ref name="SFE1">{{cite web |title=Themes: Monomolecular Wire |url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/monomolecular_wire |website=SFE–The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |publisher=Gollancz/SFE |accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref> |
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{{refimprove|section|date=January 2014}} |
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{{overly detailed|section|date=January 2011}} |
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Monomolecular wire is often used as a weapon in fiction. It has applications in cutting objects and severing adjacent molecules. A similar or identical concept may be called a '''microfilament wire''' or, as a weapon, a '''microfilament whip'''.{{cn|date=January 2018}} |
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Among the first references in fiction to a monofilament is in [[John Brunner (novelist)|John Brunner]]'s ''[[Stand on Zanzibar]]'' (1968), where hobby terrorists deploy this over-the-shelf General Technics product across roads to kill or injure the people passing there. According to Brunner, the monofilament will easily cut through glass, metal and flesh, but in any non-strained structure the molecules will immediately rebond. No harm is done if the cut object is not under mechanical stress. |
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An early example of a material similar to monomolecular wire deliberately used as a weapon and cutting tool is "[[borazon]]-tungsten filament" in [[Randall Garrett|G. Randall Garrett]]'s "Thin Edge". (Analog, Dec 1963)<ref>{{cite web |title=Thin Edge |url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?55426 |website=Internet Science Fiction Database |publisher=IFSDB |accessdate=24 May 2020}}</ref> The main character uses a strand from an asteroid towing-cable to cut jail bars and to [[booby-trap]] the door of his room. Many later writers, including [[John Brunner (novelist)|John Brunner]], [[Frank Herbert]], [[William Gibson]] and [[George R. R. Martin]], have also used monomolecular or similar wire as a weapon or tool.<ref name="SFE1" /> |
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Monomolecular wire is a plot element in the short story "[[Johnny Mnemonic]]" by [[William Gibson]]. The assassin following the protagonist has a [[diamond]] spindle of monomolecular wire (or filament) implanted in his thumb, the idea being that diamond is also made of a single molecule and thus hard enough to not be cut by a monomolecular wire. The top of a prosthesis, attached to the other side of the wire, was used as a weight and the wire could be used as a whip-like weapon or a [[garotte]]. |
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Perhaps the best-known proposed use of monomolecular wire ("hyperfilament") is in the cables of a [[space elevator]]. Although there were a few earlier scientific papers suggesting the concept, a fully realized space elevator was first described in 1979 in [[Arthur C. Clarke|Arthur Clarke's]] ''[[The Fountains of Paradise]]'' and [[Charles Sheffield|Charles Sheffield's]] ''[[The Web Between the Worlds]]''. The concept has been used in later fiction by [[Robert A. Heinlein]], [[Iain Banks|Iain M. Banks]], [[Larry Niven]] and others.<ref name="SFE1" /> |
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Monomolecular wire (in the form of wide "tapes" of a "pseudo-one-dimensional modified diamond crystal") is used as the basic building material of the space elevator in Arthur C. Clarke's novel ''[[The Fountains of Paradise]]''. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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[[Category:Fictional technology]] |
[[Category:Fictional technology]] |
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[[Category:Wire]] |
[[Category:Wire]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Allotropes of carbon]] |
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[[Category:Carbon nanotubes]] |
[[Category:Carbon nanotubes]] |
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[[Category:Emerging technologies]] |
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[[Category:Transparent electrodes]] |
[[Category:Transparent electrodes]] |
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[[Category:Refractory materials]] |
[[Category:Refractory materials]] |
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Latest revision as of 10:28, 12 December 2023
Monomolecular wire is a type of wire consisting of a single strand of strongly bonded atoms or molecules, like carbon nanotubes.
In science
[edit]![[icon]](/enwiki/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2018) |
Organic molecular wires have been proposed for use in optoelectronics.[1]
In fiction
[edit]Among the earliest descriptions of a super-strong filament are the film The Man in the White Suit, in which a scientist develops a monofilament cloth fibre that will never wear out, and Theodore Sturgeon's "The Incubi of Parallel X" (Planet Stories, Sep 1951),[2] where a "molecularly condensed fibre" is used as a zipline.[3]
An early example of a material similar to monomolecular wire deliberately used as a weapon and cutting tool is "borazon-tungsten filament" in G. Randall Garrett's "Thin Edge". (Analog, Dec 1963)[4] The main character uses a strand from an asteroid towing-cable to cut jail bars and to booby-trap the door of his room. Many later writers, including John Brunner, Frank Herbert, William Gibson and George R. R. Martin, have also used monomolecular or similar wire as a weapon or tool.[3]
Perhaps the best-known proposed use of monomolecular wire ("hyperfilament") is in the cables of a space elevator. Although there were a few earlier scientific papers suggesting the concept, a fully realized space elevator was first described in 1979 in Arthur Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise and Charles Sheffield's The Web Between the Worlds. The concept has been used in later fiction by Robert A. Heinlein, Iain M. Banks, Larry Niven and others.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Laurens D. A. Siebbeles, Ferdinand C. Grozema (July 18, 2011), Charge and Exciton Transport through Molecular Wires, ISBN 9783527633098, retrieved January 27, 2014
- ^ "The Incubi of Parallel X". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. IFSDB. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- ^ a b c "Themes: Monomolecular Wire". SFE–The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Gollancz/SFE. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- ^ "Thin Edge". Internet Science Fiction Database. IFSDB. Retrieved 24 May 2020.