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Don't have them at my college . I'm at a college where the teachers know less than the students and the students don't know anything... If you get what I mean.

I'm going to maybe try get an IDE cable, and put some magnets on one site attached to the wires. Then throw some electricity through it and see if the magnets try to make contact.

There are devices that can allow you to turn on and off magnetism, if that is what you need. I don't think that running a current through an IDE cable would cause enough polarity to pull in a magnet, but it could be worth a shot.

build a couple of electro magnets? attach it to whatever you are trying to build, maybe.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD5LOaLjLlQ[/youtube]

An example of electric being passed carbon nanotube.

Interesting stuff. Here is an article explaining how they work. It is not that the substance itself is expanding, but rather, these molecular bundles of nanotubes to repel each other. Quite novel, and doctors are looking at using them in prosthetic arms instead of the currently-used hydraulics, which are noisy, slow and require high maintenance.

Here is a place to buy them, but I don't know if you need any kind of research license to buy them. I would also assume that they are expensive because synthesizing them is a pain, and they require special nanoindustrial machinery to work with them. Perhaps you could find the pre-made aerogel sheets that the first article talks about at some point in the future.

Jackolantern wrote:Interesting stuff. Here is an article explaining how they work. It is not that the substance itself is expanding, but rather, these molecular bundles of nanotubes to repel each other. Quite novel, and doctors are looking at using them in prosthetic arms instead of the currently-used hydraulics, which are noisy, slow and require high maintenance.

Here is a place to buy them, but I don't know if you need any kind of research license to buy them. I would also assume that they are expensive because synthesizing them is a pain, and they require special nanoindustrial machinery to work with them. Perhaps you could find the pre-made aerogel sheets that the first article talks about at some point in the future.

Sweet! Thanks!! I'm already drwaing up my robot XD.

Chris wrote:

Jackolantern wrote:Interesting stuff. Here is an article explaining how they work. It is not that the substance itself is expanding, but rather, these molecular bundles of nanotubes to repel each other. Quite novel, and doctors are looking at using them in prosthetic arms instead of the currently-used hydraulics, which are noisy, slow and require high maintenance.

Here is a place to buy them, but I don't know if you need any kind of research license to buy them. I would also assume that they are expensive because synthesizing them is a pain, and they require special nanoindustrial machinery to work with them. Perhaps you could find the pre-made aerogel sheets that the first article talks about at some point in the future.

Sweet! Thanks!! I'm already drwaing up my robot XD.

If they are cheap enough and available without special permits, maybe they could even just be bundled up inside of a binding material and they could react. Obviously the complex aerogel "muscles" that are described in that article are being designed for prosthetics, and I would not think you need something that delicate and complex. Maybe shoot them an email and see if you could even get a sample to play with. Just act like you are a large industrial company looking to make a million dollar purchase. Maybe they would even give you enough of a sample for your purposes

Haha, nice idea. Only thing is they will be slightly curious as to where I'm sending the money from and the address it will be sent to XD. I'm sure if they can make this stuff I can too.

Wow, these things are really, really tiny. I misunderstood how they were made. I thought they were tubes made with nano carbon links, but the tubes themselves are nano sized. You buy them by weight, and millions of them look like powder. The Wikipedia page has a picture of them, and also lists the synthesis process, which sounds kind of crazy. I bet they are expensive.

Jackolantern wrote:Wow, these things are really, really tiny. I misunderstood how they were made. I thought they were tubes made with nano carbon links, but the tubes themselves are nano sized. You buy them by weight, and millions of them look like powder. The Wikipedia page has a picture of them, and also lists the synthesis process, which sounds kind of crazy. I bet they are expensive.

They are basically spun, like wool, from a small piece of carbon.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMb1s2hT7lo[/youtube]