Are Carbon Nanotubes the Next Asbestos?
Videos for Engineers

Graphene and its biggest celebrity, the carbon nanotube, has been a huge headliner ever since a couple Nobel-winning lab rats discovered they could create copious amounts of graphene by peeling apart a couple pieces of Scotch tape. Prior to that, obtaining the single atomic layer of graphene had been quite difficult. Carbon nanotubes, stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum, are the new wonder product being used in electronics, mechanics, and medicine. Toxicologists, however, are concerned that they might also be the next asbestos since their similarity to asbestos in shape makes it difficult for the lungs to remove once inhaled. Fortunately, we know to study the potential dangers of nanotechnology during its development phase... not as a crisis response to devastatingly widespread deployment.

Posted March 9, 2016