Eur. Phys. J. B 25, 131-134 (2002)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e20020014

Super-slippery carbon nanotubes

Symmetry breaking breaks friction

Faculty of Physics, University of Belgrade, PO Box 368, Belgrade 11001, Yugoslavia

Corresponding author: ^a ivag@afrodita.rcub.bg.ac.yu

Received: 8 August 2001
Published online: 15 January 2002

Abstract

The friction between the walls of multi-wall carbon nanotubes is shown to be extremely low in general, with important details related to the specific choice of the walls. This is governed by a simple expression revealing that the phenomenon is a profound consequence of the specific symmetry breaking: super-slippery sliding of the incommensurate walls is a Goldstone mode. Three universal principles of tribology, offering a recipe for lubricant selection are emphasized.