Nanatechnology company nets 30 patents

Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc. (Houston, TX) announced it has received or been issued 30 patents relating to innovative uses of small diameter carbon nanotubes.
"Small diameter carbon nanotubes provide numerous transforming opportunities, and the issuance of these 30 patents provides an extraordinary position for CNI," said Dr. Richard Smalley, chairman of CNI. "As the use of small-diameter carbon nanotubes is becoming more prominent in everyday applications, it would be difficult to imagine industries that are not likely to be impacted by this technology."
Small-diameter carbon nanotubes are large molecules of carbon, cylindrical in form, about 1 to 3 nanometers in diameter. At their smallest diameter, they are single-wall carbon nanotubes and have a tensile strength that is 100 times that of high-strength steel, at about one-sixth the density of steel. They conduct electricity and heat extremely well and have multiple applications in conductive composites, high-strength fibers, flat-panel displays and other applications.