[ Technical Textiles - What is a Nano Carbon.]

Today, nano is first a unit of length, on billionth (10-9) of a meter. This is a size close to the diameter of a carbon nanotube or the diameter of ADN double helix, which contains the information of the genetic code. It is also the size of a great number of organic molecules. A carbon nanotube is a single sheet of graphite (graphene) made up of carbon atom arranged in a honeycomb lattice and rolled on itself. If its diameter is only one nanometer, in comparison, its length can be considerable(nearly a centimeter, 10 million times longer !).This material has electrical properties which are so exceptionnal that one is considering using it in electrical components (to make flexible TV screens).

Fiber Specific Density E (TPa) Strenght(GPa)Strain at Break (%)
Carbon 
Nanotube  1.3 - 2  1  10 - 60  10
HS Steel  
                  
Carbon Fiber    7.8  0.2  4.1    < 10
Carbon 
Fiber - PAN  1.7 - 2  0.2 - 0.6       1.7 - 5  0.3 - 2.4
Carbon 
Fiber - Pitch  2 - 2.2 0.4 - 0.96    2.2 - 3.3     0.27 - 0.6
E/S - glass  2.5  0.07 / 0.08   2.4 / 4.5  4.8
Kevlar* 49  1.4  0.13        3.6 - 4.1  2.8

Kevlar is a registered trademark of DuPont