The nation of Personal Defense Forces primary industry is the production of Carbon-Nanotubes in almost every form available, although the CNTs are primarily produced for military purposes there are plenty of uses in the civilian market for them.

General Production

Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

High-quality truly pure SWNTs are produced in large volumes by exposing high-quality graphite dust to a pressurized mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide and then injecting in pure water before cycling the fluid through a high-pressure filter to cause strands ranging from 1mm-1cm to emerge on the other end of the filter appearing as black "whiskers" on the other side. Heating up the mixture causes the CNTs to rise to the top of the water where they can be collected for further purification and moved onto the next step of the production process. Once a sizable batch has been collected (Ranging from 6lb's-12lb's) they are pushed through a high pressure water system to insure proper alignment and are bombarded with electrons to cause strands to combine end-to-end producing longer strands with each pass of the electron bombardier improving strength each time (Length can range from 2mm to dozens of meters in length). Once the strands are of sufficient length they are given a millimeter scan to check for quality (See "Properties" below)and then diverted to join several batches of the same length before they go to a filter that forces the CNTs through dozens of small openings. The high pressure and small openings cause the CNTs to remain aligned and spool around each other to produce a high strength wire(Ranging from 50nm to 1000nm) with subsequent passes making thicker wires by combining smaller wires into bigger ones (Up to 1/2" thick). Another pass through an electron bombardier causes super-structures to form improving both the electrical and structural properties. From there the wire is separated from the moderator (Generally pure water) and are either spooled onto reels or woven using a precision weaver into single-layer mats that vary in size depending on what there going to be used for.

Different types of SWNTs can be produced by changing the concentration of Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide in relation to the amount of graphite dust.

BuckyPaper

Buckypaper is made by mixing in fulleroids (Generally C60 buckyballs) with CNT's and and then bombarding the paper with electrons to form a single superstructure that is microns thick. By changing the concentrations of fulleriods vs CNT's and the type of CNT's you can change the characteristics of the buckypaper itself.

In the nation of Personal Defense Force this is the primary form of CNT production as it has the widest variety of uses. Generally the buckypaper and CNT's are mixed inside a concentrated catalyst bath that is then bombarded with electrons which forms a super-thin superstructure at the bottom of the container. It is then scraped up by energizing the container and then sliding the sheet off the bottom to another container where the catalyst is removed and the material goes onto further production. Sheets can be combined with further electron bombardment to change there thickness from several nanotubes thick to plates up to 3" thick that are made of nearly 100,000 individual sheets. Strength can be further improved by the addition of an iron oxide that acts as an "Anchor" that increases the directional strength of the buckypaper and allows for the buckypaper to have some interesting properties (See "Properties of Buckypaper")

Properties

Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

General Characteristics

• Strength:

Extremely strong on its axis (nearly 20x the strength of steel) and, with the use of precision electron bombardment, there radii strength being equally as strong. SWNTs are also capable of compressing to 30% of there original size and stretching out to 40% past there original size without loosing structural integrity and capable of going further then that with only minor loss in strength. They can also be twisted, rotated, and wrapped around themselves without loosing structural integrity and share these properties no matter what the size of the wire, although increases in strength can be made by thickening the wire, electron bombardment, and changing the style of CNT's.

• Heat:

This style of SWNTs has a high thermal conductivity (nearly 10x coppers ability to conduct heat and twice of pure diamonds, ~ 3,800 W/(m•K)) allowing mats of the material to absorb heat at there center and radiate it rapidly at the ends making it a superior heat sink compared to every type of metal.

• Electrical:

Although SWNTs transfer electricity at a slightly elevated rate compared to modern metals they do not suffer from resistance and interference that metals do, and they are there own insulation as the electrons travel down the space inside of the CNTs instead of in "Waves" through the metal meaning that thinner wires can be used without problems or complications.

• 'Chemical

SWNTs are chemically stable in temperatures up to 2800 degrees C and in both acidic and basic environments for long durations of time with minimal degradation in properties. They also absorb all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and shield against harmful radiation, meaning that it not only has superior stealth properties compared to other materials but also provides natural NBC protection. Although the individual fibers are harmful if inhaled but not if digested, if properly produced into mats they make superior air and water filters when compared to activated carbon as they can be used for weeks in gas masks and NBC filters vs. traditional filters that can only last a few hours in gas masks cases or a few days in NBC filters.

BuckyPaper

• Strength:

Buckypaper can range anyone from 30 times to 300 times stronger then steel depending on it's composition and its quality. Military grade Buckypaper that is produced in PDF is part of the latter group,