VIdeo - 08-SeptArticle-Nanotube

Title: Nanotube

See how water molecules flow through carbon nanotubes.

The animation starts with the depiction of the water flow through a regular "rough" pipe. The molecules near the wall stick to it and move much slower than the molecules in the middle of the pipe. Colors indicate the speed of the molecules (green are fast, yellow are slower, red are the slowest). The rough pipe fades and the carbon nanotube appears. All the molecules in the carbon nanotube move fast (green). They do not stick to the surface of the nanotube because that surface is very slippery. The water molecules travel in chains because they interact with each other strongly via hydrogen bonds. These two effects (the slippery nanotube surface and formation of water molecule chains inside the nanotube) combine to produce this phenomenon of ultra-fast flow through carbon nanotubes. (Animation by Kwei-Yu Chu/LLNL.)

To read the full article, "CERAMIC INNOVATIONS: Molecules on the Move", click here.

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