Add nanotubes and stir-with the right force

NIST researchers have mapped the relationship between stirring force and nanotube arrangement, an advance key to the processing of new nanocomposite materials. Images show the evolution from solid-like nanotube networks (a) to macroscopically shear banded fluids (b) to small isolated nanotube aggregates (c) to individually dispersed and aligned carbon nanotubes (d). Credit: NIST