Rice University scientists have unveiled a new method for dissolving half-millimeter-long carbon nanotubes in solution, a critical step toward the spinning of fibers from ultralong nanotubes. The breakthrough, which was reported this month in the online journal ACS Nano, is a promising development on the road to scalable methods for making strong, ultralight, highly conductive materials like the “armchair quantum wire,” a new type of cable that could revolutionize power distribution.