A new method to quickly produce fibers from carbon nanotubes is both handmade and high tech.
The method allows researchers to make short lengths of strong, conductive fibers from small samples of bulk nanotubes in about an hour.
In 2013, Rice University chemist Matteo Pasquali found a way to spin full spools of thread-like nanotube fibers for aerospace, automotive, medical, and smart-clothing applications. The fibers look like cotton thread but perform like metal wires and carbon fibers.