Proton beams from a nanotube accelerator

Triggered by a laser pulse, a properly loaded nanogun could, at least in principle, fire a powerful stream of energetic protons.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are hardy and versatile, with remarkable material and electronic properties. And they could be useful in some extreme conditions as well. Two physicists in Japan, Masakatsu Murakami of Osaka University and Motohiko Tanaka of Chubu University, propose using a CNT as a shotgun barrel to shoot a beam of protons.