A better blade

So i was reading this article
Ancient Swords and Modern Technology
Saladin

In short, studies have revealed that damascus steel has carbon nanotubes which gives the weapons it is forged into their unique qualities.

Cool right? Which got me thinking about carbon nanotubes and their functions.

Carbon Nanotubes
Potential Applications
Nano Research

So, this all leads me to my question. How can we add Sword or (hate to say it) Light Saber to the list of potential applications for the use of carbon nanotubes since they exist inherently in the creation process for damascus steel?

reply to post by Thorneblood


I cant add much to this thread probably as Im not feeling very creative at the moment but I did wanna say bravo on finding that article .

Its interesting to think that a process they perfected well over a thousand years ago has our best scientist stupmed and they still cant crack that nut .

And even more amazing they were utilizing nano tech
The history nerd in me got my fill with that article thank you.

There is a guy that is making chef knives using the damascus steel process.

You can see his most extraordinary work here.

They are supposed to be some of the best in the world.

Ok so my initial thought follows this sort of logic.

Since carbon nanotubes can theoretically be used as miniature power cells then you would not need a single large power source but instead utilize a smaller power source that is daisy chained throughout the sword and linked by a carbon nanowire.

Yes or no?

It is incorrect to say they perfected the process and we scientists cannot do the same right now. As it has already been pointed out in a couple of articles on the subject, the actual method of producing the blades was lost down the years.

The discovery or at least the theory now is that wood/organic material was burnt to carbonize the steel, and when you burn plant matter, you can produce carbon nanotubes in wood driven flames... probably alot of what comes off as soot when you have a campfire was in the form of nanotubes.

It is most likely that the amazing blades were an accident of both materials and production methods. Using good quality steel, and then using local materials to carbonize.

Amazing stuff that steel doped with carbon nanotubes gives it some great properties

reply to post by Thorneblood

Since carbon nanotubes can theoretically be used as miniature power cells

This is an inaccurate statement. Cabon Nanotubes cannot be used as a power source.

While it is true that carbon nanotubes can be used in the construction of novel forms of solar cells, forging them into a blade would necessarily preclude their use as a source of power.

What your nanotubes WILL do, is give the material some amazing tensile strength. (Resistance to stretching)

Nevermind...

Hmmm....
Maybe i misunderstood this then.

A nanotube formed by joining two nanotubes of different diameters end to end can act as a diode, suggesting the possibility of constructing computer circuits entirely of nanotubes. Because of their good thermal transmission properties, CNT can potentially dissipate heat from computer chips. The longest electricity conducting circuit is a fraction of an inch long.[23]

Wouldn't this concept, applied to a blade, create enough heat to cause the blade to "glow" or slice through various substances easier...perhaps even cauterizing the wound in the process?

S&F. I have, over the last year or so, gotten pretty into blades. Ive always been a knife guy, but swords and machetes have become of more and more interest to me as Ive gotten older. The history behind such weapons is incredible.
Ive been waiting for the day when a 'better' sword is created. It amazes me that after all these years, the design really has not been improved.

So sorry OP, but i had to respond to this post.

It is incorrect to say they perfected the process and we scientists cannot do the same right now. As it has already been pointed out in a couple of articles on the subject, the actual method of producing the blades was lost down the years.

If they could produce the steel back then, and 'you scientists' cannot replicate it today, then it is entirely correct to say you cannot do the same now...how can not being able to replicate something today, that was done back then, be anything else?

The only relevance of the method being lost over time, is to highlight the fact that we no longer know how to do it, and are now unable to figure out how accomplish the same technological feat, that was done previously...which is what the poster said.

It is most likely that the amazing blades were an accident of both materials and production methods.

So anything 'you scientists' cannot figure out how to replicate, had to be an accident and not something that was deliberately aimed for? What evidence makes you conclude this was most likely an accidental process or discovery?

Arrogance is a word that springs to mind.

OP, could piezo crystals fit into powering your nanotube encrusted blade theory?

Or possibly a series of tiny oscillating weights, creating a magnetic charge fed to a series of embedded capacitors, feeding the nanotubes with energy, powered only by kinetics or movement of the sword (motion of walking/running/horseback riding while in scabbard, drawing, hacking and slashing, thrusting, etc.) might be a method.

Much like the self powered wrist watches.

reply to post by Thorneblood

A nanotube formed by joining two nanotubes of different diameters end to end can act as a diode, suggesting the possibility of constructing computer circuits entirely of nanotubes. Because of their good thermal transmission properties, CNT can potentially dissipate heat from computer chips. The longest electricity conducting circuit is a fraction of an inch long.[23]

Wouldn't this concept, applied to a blade, create enough heat to cause the blade to "glow" or slice through various substances easier...perhaps even cauterizing the wound in the process?

Well, it wouldn't really create any heat, because there wouldn't be a source of energy in the blade itself.

And secondly, creating nano-scale architecture is possible, however, the process of forging (I.E. Smashing the [snip] out of a hunk of metal with a heavy hammer until it's the proper shape) would probably destroy the nano-architecture in the process.

I'm not sure about the glowing part.... maybe if you used some sort of radio-isotope, like a tritrium based polymer within the blade itself?

That might make it glow... but ordinarily, nanotubes do not glow.



You are trying to make a lightsaber, aren't you?

Eros - If you consider both the light and heat generating possibilities of the nanotube, combined with the notion of 'creating diamonds' then i fail to see how it's impossible, only perhaps infeasible. Anyway....

MysterX - That's an interesting concept as i see it leading to something more portable and concealable than the most realistic image i had come up with so far. Could nanotubes created by such a basic method even be used in this manner or would the creation method need to be purely synthetic?

reply to post by Thorneblood


I just made a somewhat related thread.... have a look?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I love swords, knives and their history. I think when we went to guns, and blacksmiths went out of fashion so to speak, so much was lost. Procedures passed down and perfected on by generation simply lost. I have several swords and more knives to list, and I love how every one is different.

reply to post by Thorneblood

MysterX - That's an interesting concept as i see it leading to something more portable and concealable than the most realistic image i had come up with so far. Could nanotubes created by such a basic method even be used in this manner or would the creation method need to be purely synthetic?

Not sure tbh, i would imagine that their creation by basic methods is possible, but their deposition would probably be too random.

Basic creation using essentially soot from burning organics, probably wouldn't have any kind of structured organisation..but i really don't know.

Well, it's a start

Nanoblade
Nanosword

I imagine from this point the real question is how "big" can you grow them?

The reason we cant make real damascus steel in modern times is because it was made with a special type of steel with a very specific mineral content called wootz. The ore used for the original wootz steel is found in a specific place in Jordan. Enjoy

www.youtube.com...