Smalley Available for Interviews on Atomic Wire

CONTACT: Lia Unrau
PHONE: (713) 831-4793

SMALLEY AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS ON ATOMIC WIRE

An article to appear in the Sept. 15 issue of Science entitled”Unraveling Nanotubes: Field Emission from an Atomic Wire,”
embargoed until Thurdsay, Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, is co-
authored by Rick Smalley, professor of chemistry at Rice University.

Smalley is available for interviews about that report prior to
the embargo date, with the understanding that any comments he makes
are included in the embargo. The paper reports findings of “atomic
wire,” formed when carbon atoms are pulled off the open edges of
nanotubes by an electric current, in a process that resembles the
unraveling of a sweater. Smalley sees this as the first step toward
replacing the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and atomic force
microscope (AFM). Smalley is widely known for the discovery and
characterization of buckminsterfullerenes.

For final copies of the Science research article, contact Diane
Dondershine, AAAS Office of Communications, at (202) 326-6421.