Carbon is a dirty word. We burn too much of it, producing billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide that threatens to wreck our planet's climate for generations to come. Before that it was the villain of the piece in the guise of the soot that poured from factory chimneys and turned cities black. It has a lot to live down.rnNow our long-time enemy could be on the brink of becoming our high-tech best friend. As we learn to shape carbon on the nanoscale -into tubes and sheets, balls and ribbons -entirely new and unexpected vistas are opening up. The carbon atoms that were forged in the furnace of the universe's stars can be woven together into materials that mayrnhelp gather energy from our own star. Similar materials promise to make our electronic world run with unprecedented efficiency, and may even hold the secret to eking out precious reserves of oil.
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