by Boris KOLBASOV, Cand. Sc. (Tech.), Alexander KUKUSHKIN, Cand. Sc. (Phys. & Math.); Valentin RANTSEV-KARTINOV, Cand. Sc. (Phys. & Math.), Russian Research Center "KURCHATOV INSTITUTE"; Pyotr ROMANOV, Cand. Sc. (Tech.), Federal Atomic Energy Agency Specialists of the Russian Research Center (RRC) "KURCHATOV INSTITUTE" have made an important discovery: unusual formations produced by electric breakdowns, or discharges, in carbon-containing (carboniferous) medium. They consist of what are called base blocks of correct geometrical shape-tubules with a "cartwheel" often located at the butt, and also simple combinations of them all. Many-sided investigations with the use of a large database created at our Center have shown that the phenomenon which interests us can also be observed in occurrences on a broad "band" or scales-from submicronic (such as dust deposits in tokamak vacuum chamber) up to galactic ones. And all of the observed phenomena share a tendency for similarity: the general structure is built up from absolutely similar "details", but of a much smaller size, and they, in their turn-from even smaller ones, etc (broadly studied now are type of structures known as fractals). Because of these properties they have been called "universal skeletal structures"*. Its elementary, or composite, "bricks" are most likely carbon nanotubes (NTs) which are well known to physicists-miniature cylinders, "rolled up" from a leaf composed of flat hexahedrons at the apexes of which there are atoms of the given substance, or material. Researchers of the "KURCHATOV INSTITUTE" Center have taken photos of the dust particles and films (mostly carboniferous) which precipitate during an electric discharge in the tokamak T-10 vacuum chamber**. These pictures were taken with the help of transmission and scanning electron microscopes. * See: A. Kukushkin, V. Rantsev-Kartinov, "Universal Skeletal Structures: in Lab and in... Space", Science in Russia, No. 1, 2004. - Ed. ** Se ... Читать далее