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/sci/ - Science & Math

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5408193 No.5408193 [Reply] [Original]

If I had a knife with a blade exactly one molecule wide, would that be very sharp? Assume that the blade itself is made of indestructium or something

>> No.5408207

Yes.

>> No.5408244

One molecule of what?

>> No.5408305

>>5408244
Unobtainium.

>> No.5409014

could you actually cut anything with a blade like that?

>> No.5409017

what if it was just one row of molecules

>> No.5409022

>>5409014
well i guess we're assuming that the bonds between them will never break ever so yeah

it would cut through literally anything bigger than it a la the subtle knife

>> No.5409033

What if the edge of the blade was just one theoretical string from string theory, like the knife were a wire-cheese cutter? You'd be able to cut electrons, ect?

>> No.5409037

>>5409033
in theory

>> No.5409077

What you are suggesting isn't particularly weird;
Several authors have worked out much of the physics.

All you need to suppose is a molecule with very strong bonds between molecules and where they overlap, like s-chain.
then build or assemble the links one atop the next, and wind it up.

But, this is the kind of thing we'll learn to do after we have a machine that can easily assemble molecules that way -- it would be a great deal harder to do before then.
Then someone will have to spend a lot of time assembling various molecules that might do various jobs, and we'll be done.

>> No.5409083

>>5409077
Oh, presumably once the molecule-building machine exists, its mechanism would make industrial cutting much more practical and controllable than a wire knife of this sort.

>> No.5409085

It would be extremely sharp, but wouldn't be able to hold an edge worth a damn. If we're assuming it's made of some special material where the molecules stick together perfectly, though...yeah, you'd basically have to invent lightsabers to get better than that.

>> No.5409094

It won't work. Shibito's effect.

Look it up.

>> No.5409129

It could cut through many materials, although the speed at which the knife was moving and the inertia of the object being cut would still come into play. You can cut an orange that is free falling but if you don't provide enough force with the blade you will only push the orange with your knife. The same goes for any object you attempt to cut with this theoretical knife. I imagine that it would be difficult to cut a single molecule or any other object with a very low inertial mass unless it was restrained properly.

>> No.5409137

>>5409094

Did you spell that incorrectly? I'm not getting any relevant results on google. Alternatively, skip the middle man and just post the article/paper.

>> No.5409152

If the blade is made of talc then it wont cut most things

>> No.5409160

>>5409033
that makes absolutely no fucking sense

>> No.5409199

Not OP, but what if you made a blade out of neutrons? It would weigh about 250 lbs, so you wouldn't be able to lift it unfortunately.

>> No.5409274

No, OP.

IF you had a sheet of atoms one atom in thickness, you'd have a foil, not a knife. Think aluminum foil.

>> No.5409279

>>5408193
I think sharpness comes from a gradient of thinness into thickness. 1 molecule to 2, 3, 4, and so on, all the way up.

>> No.5409291

>Is one molecule wide sharp?
How is this even a question

>> No.5409295

A) How could you hold such a thing
B) It would probably react with molecules in the air and destroy it through oxidation.

>> No.5409342

Most materials at a certain thickness become flexible. It's how you are going to see flexible screens that can roll up and be put away in the future. The only difference with those screens is they have reached a certain thickness where when you bend the material one side doesn't become so stressed it breaks.

So if the blade bends then it's not a good knife.

>> No.5409358

>>5409295
a) with the handle... duh

>> No.5409399

>>5409274
Who said 'sheet'?
I think he is talking about the molecular-chain knife so often used in fiction.

>> No.5409400

>>5409295
>A) How could you hold such a thing
It's a chain -- why not build grips on the end?
In Johnny Mnemonic, it was wound under a fingernail, with the heavy nail a grip for the other hand.

>B) It would probably react with molecules in the air and destroy it through oxidation.
Remember, when someone writes 'molecule,' they probably mean something complex, not an element.

>> No.5409402

>>5409342
Most razor blades bend plenty; they are considered extremely sharp and useful.

Cheese wire is held taut.