Carbon nanotube actuators

Okay, kiddo, so let me tell you about something called carbon nanotube actuators. It can be a bit tricky to understand, but I'll do my best to explain it like you're five.

First, do you know what a carbon nanotube is? It's like a really, really tiny tube that's made of carbon atoms. They are so small that you can't even see them without a special microscope.

Now, an actuator is something that can make things move. Like a robot arm - it can move up and down or back and forth because of something called an actuator.

So a carbon nanotube actuator is a tiny tube made of carbon atoms that can make things move. How does it do that, you ask? Well, when you put electricity through the nanotube, it starts to change shape. It might bend or straighten out or twist.

Scientists can use these carbon nanotube actuators to create really small machines. They might make tiny robots that can move around inside your body to help with medicine or surgery. Or they might make really small sensors that can detect things like chemicals or temperature.

So that's carbon nanotube actuators in a nutshell. They're tiny tubes made of carbon atoms that can make things move when you put electricity through them. Pretty cool, right?