Definitions for "Nanotubes"
Extremely small tubes made from pure carbon. For more information see IPE nanotube primer (Institut de Physique des Nanostructures, Switzerland).
Nanotubes have a diameter of just a few nanometers and display special physical properties. Carbon nanotubes have been particularly well researched.
Long, thin cylinders of carbon, discovered in 1991 by S. Iijima. These large macromolecules are unique for their size, shape, and remarkable physical properties. They can be thought of as a sheet of graphite (a hexagonal lattice of carbon) rolled into a cylinder. The physical properties are still being discovered. Nanotubes have a very broad range of electronic, thermal, and structural properties that change depending on the different kinds of nanotube (defined by its diameter, length, and chirality, or twist). To make things more interesting, besides having a single cylindrical wall (Single Walled Nanotubes or SWNTs), nanotubes can have multiple walls (MWNTs)--cylinders inside the other cylinders. Usually referred to as carbon nanotubes, also known as nanorods. Applications for carbon nanotubes include high-density data storage, nanoscale electronics, and flexible solar cells.