Colloquium:: Optical simulations of electron diffraction by carbon nanotubes

This colloquium discusses the atomic structure of carbon nanotubes as deduced from high-resolution electron microscopy and electron diffraction in transmission through a single nanotube. The principal features of the observed micrographs are interpreted in terms of the cylindrical, chiral geometry of the atomic distribution of single-wall or multiwall nanotubes. In order to better understand the mechanism of image formation in electron diffraction, the authors propose optical simulation experiments using a laser pointer and a little "diffraction laboratory on a slide.'' The simulations visibly reproduce all the features of the observed electron micrographs, namely, the quasihexagonal patterns of Bragg spots, the streaked nature of the spots, the doubling of the spot number induced by chirality, etc. The present colloquium should allow a general readership to appreciate the continuing efficiency and power of diffraction methods for the determination of the structure of macromolecules.