Technology gurus, and even politicians such as Newt Gingrich,
are pointing to nanotechnology as a force that will change our
world. But to become reality, this science of the small will
require an affordable, ready source of its primary raw material,
carbon. Petroleum is the obvious choice, but as its price goes
up, corn-based ethanol could turn out to be the preferred source
of raw materials for our nano future.  A commonly cited estimate
is that a nanotechnology-based industry will be worth more than
$1 trillion by 2015. Experts forecast that nanomaterials could
soon give us tires that never go flat, drill bits that never get
dull and thousands of other useful products that will benefit
from super-strong, yet affordable materials. The basic building
blocks of nanotechnology, called carbon nanotubes, can yield
ultrastrong fibers that are 5,000 times smaller than a human
hair.  Scientists at the University of Cambridge in England
recently detailed in the journal Nature Science how they made
tiny twisted ropes