Monomolecular Wires were wires made of single strands of molecules. They were usually made of carbon nanotubes.
Background[]
The monomolecular wire was first popularized in science fiction. However, they did not become a possibility until 1990 when carbon nanotubes were discovered. Carbon nanotubes saw a whole lot of applications. They were in transistors. They were in artificial muscles. They were even in megastructures and space elevators. In the late 21st century, however, they saw use in monomolecular wires.
Description[]
Tech Level: 12
Monomolecular wires were characterized by two characteristics. One was extremely high tensile strength. The other was that they were so thin that monomolecular wires were difficult to see. These were both features of carbon nanotubes. By the late 21st century, nanoscale manufacturing had been perfected, allowing a monomolecular wire to be created. A monomolecular wire made of carbon nanotubes was so thin that it was best used as a cutting tool. A monomolecular wire could cut through anything except another monomolecular wire or anything else with high tensile strength. Synthetic diamond (Note: There will be no page on synthetic diamond.) was used as a spool to handle the wire. While in science fiction, monomolecular wires were used by humans, in reality, only robots used them. Monomolecular wires were too dangerous to be handled by humans. They could lose a body part or even die. One infamous and highly illegal usage of monomolecular wire was as a whip.