Carbon nanotube ropes proposed as particle pipes

Classical molecular dynamics studies of carbon ion-irradiation on ropes made of (10, 10) carbon nanotubes have been made. The carbon ions were fired into the rope on the outside of the nanotubes in a direction almost parallel to the longitudinal axis. Channeling takes place when the incidence angle is smaller than a critical angle. The dependence of the critical angle on the energy follows an inverse square root function. Our calculations show that the dependence of the critical angle on the energy is very similar for intra- and inter-tube channeling. Wave creation during the collision process is discussed.