Computer models of nanotubes illustrate a property called "chirality." When carbon atoms are arranged in straight lines along the tube, the tube is a very good conductor. When they form a spiral ...

Where would carbon-based life be without carbon? There are 118 known chemical elements, but carbon is the fourth most abundant and perhaps the most important to human life. Everywhere you look, ...

An atom is the smallest unit of an element that retains its chemical properties. It is made of protons, neutrons, and electrons. (Image: M ...

Researchers at ETH Zurich have shown, for the first time with very high time and spatial resolution, that electrons in ...

The distribution of outermost shell electrons, known as valence electrons, of organic molecules was observed for the first time. As the interactions between atoms are governed by the valence electrons ...

Sheets of carbon a single atom thick can be wrinkled to create functional microchips. This nano-origami technique could lead to smaller and faster computer processors. Manoj Tripathi at the University ...