Comments:Delaware scientists create shortest ever metal to metal bond

whats the point of this research? while i do like bluesky research i just don't see the point of this, it doesn't seam to help theory or have any practical implications, but perhaps they're working on room temp superconductors (although i doubt it because it contains carbon) or maybe they're working on nano-tech??

Same for me, it was the first question which came into my mind: what is the practical application for this research? I don't think they did it only for the sake of a record or only to see if it is possible to do it.


 * It should be a really strong metal, which has many practical uses. They're looking for a super-strong metal for the space elevator last I checked.  Fephisto 17:24, 11 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Carbon is the top candidate for a space elevator, the issue is making a molecule miles long. This? I just don't know. I wonder if the scientists even have enough to work out the properties of the compound. --Brian McNeil / talk 17:34, 11 November 2007 (UTC)
 * No, this wouldn't make a strong metal, because it's a compound. It has no immediate real-world applications - in that sense it is blue sky work. This is really "pushing the envelope" of bonding theory - five bonds between the same two atoms is pretty weird!  And that means in the long term that we may discover some unusual properties that will lead to new applications, perhaps some we can't even imagine right now.  Walkerma 07:35, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
 * My comment came from this quote in the article, "In general, shorter bonds containing more electrons will be stronger". But as a side-note, Delaware!  Fephisto 18:07, 12 November 2007 (UTC)