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Gold From Thin Air

  • Broadcast in Technology
The World Transformed

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We may be entering an age of wonder materials that save the planet.

High-quality carbon nanotubes made from carbon dioxide in the air break the manufacturing cost barrier

“The most valuable material ever sold”

Carbon nanotubes are super-materials that can be stronger than steel and more conductive than copper. So despite much research, why aren’t they used in applications ranging from batteries to tires?

Answer: The high manufacturing costs and extremely expensive price, according to the researchers.

The good news:

High-quality carbon nanotubes at a low cost.
Carbon Nanotubes have a huge variety of potential applications for energy, medicine, industry, consumer devices. https://bit.ly/2GRLALW

And we’re only just beginning to figure out what they’re good for. Make them widely available at a low cost and there’s no telling what people will figure out to do with them.

More Good News:

In this process, the carbon comes straight from CO2 in the atmosphere. A “gold rush” for CO2 would have the geoengineering benefit of reducing atmospheric carbon. A self-funded way to mitigate climate change?  

Potential Downside:

What id the gold rush goes on and sucks too much CO2 out of the atmosphere. Could it trigger an ice age?  

 

WT 444-757

Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Image from Pixabay.com

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