Atoms in nanotubes: small dimensions and variable dimensionality

TL;DR

This paper discusses how newly discovered carbon nanotubes create a quasi-one-dimensional environment for small atoms, serving as an ideal platform for testing statistical physics concepts.

Contribution

It introduces the use of carbon nanotubes as a novel experimental setup for studying low-dimensional atomic systems.

Findings

Atoms move freely within nanotubes

Nanotubes serve as a model for 1D systems

Potential for testing statistical physics theories

Abstract

Newly discovered carbon nanotubes provide an environment in which small atoms move relatively freely. An assembly of such atoms provides a realization of a quasi-one dimensional system which is an ideal testing ground for concepts and mathematics of statistical physics.