Buckytube armor announced.

Well now, this is something I've been blathering about since the stuff was discovered! An Israeli company, ApNano, has announced a new armor material made from "nanotechnology".

They said the nano-based armor, which stemmed from a new carbon form called Inorganic Fullerenes, withstood the impact.

The company's chief executive officer, Menachem Genut, said the company would launch initial production within the next six months. Genut said this would mean the production of between 100 and 200 kilograms of the nano-material per day.

By 2007, Genut said, ApNano, based in Nes Ziona, Israel, would begin full-scale production of the armor. This would mean the production of several tons per day.

If they can do this and aren't bullshitting us, they will be the largest producers of nanotubes in the world.  Furthermore if they can do this, then nanotube cables and composites for civillian use won't be far behind.  Awsome!

Not just carbon tubes either.  Turns out you can make Fullerene tubes out of lots of things.

I want a plastic composite engine block threaded with carbon nanotubes with iron whisker cylinder linings, diamond coated piston rings, ceramic pistons and heads, blah blah blah that runs 25,000 rpm at 1,200 degrees F please.  1000 horsepower out of an 1800cc displacement, fuel efficiency approaching 100%.  Yeah baby!  That's what we're talkin' here.

Oh, and the armor should stop a .308 in small thickness too, like 1/8th inch or thereabout.  Hot damn!

The Starry Eyed Phantom Gearhead.