chemistry

Monomolecular wire

Monomolecular wire is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Monomolecular wire rather than just read about it. In short: Monomolecular wire is a type of wire consisting of a single strand of strongly bonded atoms or molecules, such as carbon nanotube. In science Organic molecular wires have been proposed for use in optoelectronics.

Key takeaways

Monomolecular wire belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Monomolecular wire to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Monomolecular wire from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Monomolecular wire is a type of wire consisting of a single strand of strongly bonded atoms or molecules, such as carbon nanotube.

In science

Organic molecular wires have been proposed for use in optoelectronics.

In fiction Among the earliest descriptions of a super-strong filament are the film The Man in the White Suit, in which a scientist develops a monofilament cloth fibre that will never wear out, and Theodore Sturgeon's "The Incubi of Parallel X" (Planet Stories, Sep 1951), where a "molecularly condensed fibre" is used as a zipline. An early example of a material similar to monomolecular wire deliberately used as a weapon and cutting tool is "borazon-tungsten filament" in G. Randall Garrett's "Thin Edge". (Analog, Dec 1963) The main character uses a strand from an asteroid towing-cable to cut jail bars and to booby-trap the door of his room. Many later writers, including John Brunner, Frank Herbert, William Gibson and George R. R. Martin, have also used monomolecular or similar wire as a weapon or tool. Perhaps the best-known proposed use of monomolecular wire ("hyperfilament") is in the cables of a space elevator. Although there were a few earlier scientific papers suggesting the concept, a fully realized space elevator was first described in 1979 in Arthur Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise and Charles Sheffield's The Web Between the Worlds. The concept has been used in later fiction by Robert A. Heinlein, Iain M. Banks, Larry Niven and others.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Monomolecular wire

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Monomolecular wire claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Monomolecular wire before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Monomolecular wire ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Monomolecular wire

In research: Monomolecular wire appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Monomolecular wire in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Monomolecular wire is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Allotropes of carbon, Carbon nanotubes, Fictional technology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Monomolecular wire outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Monomolecular wire in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Monomolecular wire means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Monomolecular wire out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Monomolecular wire in simple terms?

Monomolecular wire is a type of wire consisting of a single strand of strongly bonded atoms or molecules, such as carbon nanotube. In science Organic molecular wires have been proposed for use in optoelectronics.

Why does Monomolecular wire matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Monomolecular wire?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Monomolecular wire.