🚀 go-pugleaf

Drexler's sample mechanical nanocomputer uses carbon polymer rods as
linkages.  These rods, one atom thick with with double bonds between
each atom, are quite strong.  However, unless they are held in a
groove or channel of some kind, they get kinks, so their uses are
limited.

I've got an idea for a different rod that might not get kinks.  It's a
hollow cylinder of carbon atoms.  Each cross-section is a singly-linked
ring of carbons, and there are also single bonds between the carbons in
adjacent rings.  The number of carbons per ring could be varied.  Do I
have to draw a diagram?  Oh, ok.  Here's a short segment of a six atom
per ring rod:

   --C-------C-------C--
    / \     / \     / \
   / --C---/---C---/---C--
--C-------C-------C--  |
  |  --C--|----C--|----C--
--C-------C-------C-- /
   \ /     \ /     \ /
  --C-------C-------C--

This would not be a replacement for the doubly-linked rod -- it would
have different uses.  For instance, it might work as the above-mentioned
channel, if the doubly-linked rod would fit down the middle.  So, my
question is, how stable would this structure be?  Do you think a rod
like this would just sit there in, say, water at STP, or would it kink
up and turn into graphite?
---
Jef

              Jef Poskanzer   jef@lbl-rtsg.arpa   ...well!pokey
              "Everybody is somebody else's weirdo." -- Dykstra