A use for it, like, perhaps, building a UFO??

I wonder if it's pure coincidence that the accounts of the materials found at the supposed UFO crash site in Roswell, New Mexico just happen to resemble buckypaper.

Has the health impact of being around large amounts of nanotubes been proven? Or even small amounts? Does it share the same fate as once thought of 'clean' asbestos. I know asbestos may be 'safe' when it is in a bound form but what happens when the product becomes old and unbinds (breaks) into the environment? I don't know. Do the scientists know?

It's things like this that truly bother me. First off, nanotech is, as far as anyone can tell, no more than the latest fad in material science. Inherently, there's nothing wrongs with this (other than the vast mis-appropriation of resources for rather worthless research), but the big problem with fads in research is people forget their respect for science. It is the mission of the scientist to explore what is unknown to man. To do that, and do it well, one needs to maintain a healthy respect for what is unknown to them. When a fad like nanotech comes along, everyone jumps onboard, and new material development is extremely high. However, as soon as something cool comes out, like Buckyballs (C60) or C-nanotubes or whatnot, it somehow manages to jump to from research labs to industry to production to mass market far too fast. See, we have no idea what happens to these nano-materials when used this way. We don't know how they degrade, or if they become harmful, or how they react under extreme conditions, or whether or not they'll grow tentacles and take over the world as alien-guided dictators.

I'm sure you've all heard about asbestos. It makes an amazing insulator, but it just so happens to cause lung cancer. That was years ago, though, right? That could never happen again, we know so much more about the physical world, right? Not really. The more we learn, the more we find that we don't know. Nanotech is a very new field, and very little is known about the long-term ramification of nanomaterials. If we lose our respect for what we don't know, we run the risk of getting ourselves into a very, very bad mess.

~nepharis

I understand it is Halloween season so we have to be afraid of some thing. But carbon, lets be afraid of carbon, it is only the most common element on earth how about embracing new technology, if i remember correctly people ware afraid of the evil of electricity.
I can think of many every day uses of this new buckyballs (C60) or C-nano-tubes that can be beneficial so if you want be scared of some thing be scared of boggy man or aliens

Gee, Nepharis, sounds like every single form of human endeavor. Will there be problems? Yup. Will they be hard to solve? Yup. Will some people die? Yup. What's the alternative? Stop development?

There were no good old days. The reason the scientific paradigm exists is because it solves problems. Sure, it's important to attempt to anticipate and plan for other problems, but that's the issue: Most consequences are unintended and unanticipated. It is the Way of Things.

Materials made from carbon nanotubes, carbon fiber, carbon-carbon and anything that will turn into dust when cut should always be treated with caution. People have been dealing with carbon fiber and carbon-carbon for years, it is important to wear filter masks and goggles and use a dust collection system when doing cutting. This is no different if you are working with wood, fiberglass, phenolic, or metals. Avoid getting dust in your eyes, lungs, and keep it off your skin if possible.

Could this be used for automobiles? i.e. stronger but lighter = big fuel savings and potentially better safety

by saying it is lighter and stronger than steel. i instantly wondered if it is also maleable, could it serve as a new material for making samurai swords?

FYI, there was a study published last year indicating that waterborne fullerenes caused a moderate level of brain damage in fish. I shudder to think what would happen when those fish are eaten or if we were to drink from those same contaminated water sources. Unfortunately, the only way to find out might be the hard way.