For the first time, scientists have discovered how to
produce ultra-thin "diamond nanothreads" that promise extraordinary
properties, including strength and stiffness greater than that of today's
strongest nanotubes and polymers. A paper describing this discovery by a
research team led by John V. Badding, a professor of chemistry at Penn State
University, will be published in the 21 September 2014 issue of the journal
Nature Materials.