Using molecular simulation, this paper predicts that by bending one end of the outer carbon nanotube (CNT) of a double-wall CNT (DWCNT), the inner CNT could possibly be shot out with a speed of several 100 m/s, and a kinetic energy of several eV from either left or the right end of the outer CNT, depending on the length of inner CNT. Analysis in this paper suggests that the outer CNT is a supplier of the CNT bullet's kinetic energy and the bullet can be shot out only if the outer CNT buckles while the inner CNT does not. Noticeably, such molecular gun could be practical in experiment environment since the bending of a CNT could be obtained by applying external electrical field.

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Using molecular dynamics simulation, we predict that under fixed-end boundary condition, for an unsymmetrical chiral single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), helix-like stripes would appear on the nanotube shell, and torsional buckling could occur. At the same time, buckling critical strains would be greatly reduce (e.g., ∼20% for a (8,3) SWCNT) compared with those under simply supported boundary conditions. The mechanism for this decrease is not understood.