Silicon's successor lurks in the lab

Now the question is whether they can live up to their promise.

In a relatively short time, carbon nanotubes -- thin tubes of carbon atoms that have unusual characteristics because of their unique structure -- have emerged as a miracle material that could revolutionise a number of industries.

Single-walled nanotubes are expected to debut this year in polymers as a way to strengthen plastic parts in cars or get them to conduct electricity through normally nonconducive materials. Paint that can deflect radar is also anticipated in the not-too-distant future. Computer and TV manufacturers plan to use them to drastically reduce the cost of screens in an estimated two years.

"Any major industrial corporation that has an interest in advanced materials, from plastics companies to semiconductor companies, is buying from us," said Tom Pitstick, vice president of business development at Carbon Nanotechnologies, a Houston company founded by Rick Smalley, a 1996 Nobel Prize winner and Rice University professor.

Within a decade, nanotubes could replace silicon as the transistors inside processors and memory chips. Tubes could also be used to convey light through optical fibres and, further out, to deliver medicines to specific cells inside a body or even restructure the nation's power grid.

Mass production of nanotubes, however, remains a challenge. CNI plans to increase its manufacturing capacity to the point where the company can make 1,000 pounds of nanotubes a day by 2005. Right now, it can make only about a pound or two daily.

This cumbersome process makes the technology too costly for wide use. The going price on the company's Web site is $500 (£300) a gram.