A team of researchers has used computer simulations to discover carbon fibers with mechanical strength comparable to that of diamond. In a paper published in Physical Review Letters, Crespi, graduate student Dragan Stojkovic, and recent Ph.D. graduate Peihong Zhang report that they discovered incredibly strong and stiff carbon tubes about 0.4 nanometers in diameter.

Using supercomputers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), the University of Michigan, and the University of Texas, Crespi’s team simulated the electronic states and total energies of various carbon molecules.

These new nanotubes are about 40 percent stronger than the other nanotubes formed using the same number of atoms,” said Crespi.

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