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Quantum wires are cables made from nanotubes, usually carbon, that can be conductors, insulators or semiconductors. They are smaller and lighter than metal wires, but expensive to produce. Carbon nanotubes are used to create quantum wires and have potential uses in electronics and optics. NASA is funding research to create a long enough quantum wire for use in spaceships, but the specific shape of nanotubes needed is rare and more research is needed.
A quantum wire is a cable or wire, often similar in function to copper wire, but made from nanotubes of a specific element, usually carbon. Quantum wires are usually conductors, but they can also be made as insulators or semiconductors. These cables are ideal for electrical wiring duties and for use on spacecraft because they are smaller and lighter than their metal counterparts. They are, however, expensive to produce.
Nanotubes are man-made microscopic tubes with a diameter of 1 nanometer, measuring 1 billionth of a meter. By comparison, the diameter of a single human hair is measured in micrometers, which are 1,000 times larger than a nanometer. Nanotubes are not only used to create quantum wires, but are used in a variety of scientific fields, including medical research.
Discovered in 1991, nanotubes are made when a laser is fired at a pure substance, such as carbon. This was originally a lengthy process with many potential nanotubes rejected because they didn’t meet size requirements, but researchers at Rice University had perfected a process for making nanotubes of the appropriate size by 1996.
The nanotubes must be linked or twisted together in chains to form quantum wires, which have higher conductivity than copper wires, the best metallic conductor of electricity. In theory, a quantum wire is one-sixth the weight of copper wire and can conduct electricity up to ten times more efficiently. Metallic quantum wires can be made of nickel (Ni) or gold (Au). These cables are still largely experimental, but have uses in electronics and optics.
Perhaps the most scientifically exciting type of quantum wire, however, are those made from carbon nanotubes. In 2005, Rice University was conducting extensive research on the production of quantum wire from carbon nanotubes, using an US$11 million (USD) grant from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Slated to be completed in 2010, Rice University has been tasked with creating a quantum wire long enough to be used in spaceships.
Because tethers are lighter and more efficient, NASA and other scientists believe quantum tethers could be key in allowing spacecraft to travel farther through space since every extra pound costs a spacecraft more fuel. Scientists are having trouble making enough nanotubes to make long stretches of wire, however, as a very specific shape of nanotubes, called an “armchair,” is needed to twist them into wires. In 2005, only two percent of nanotubes were in the correct shape for use. As of 2010, however, researchers at Rice University had made significant progress in solving the problem, but more research was still needed.
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