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Chinese boffins in copper nanotubes acronym outrage

What a bunch of...

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We're awarding today a much-coveted Vulture Vulgar Acronym trophy (VULVA) to China's Dachi Yang, Guowen Meng, Shuyuan Zhang, Yufeng Hao, Xiaohong An, Qing Wei, Min Yeab, and Lide Zhanga for a truly breathtaking contribution to the genre in their snappily-titled Electrochemical synthesis of metal and semimetal nanotube–nanowire heterojunctions and their electronic transport properties.

Ok, so here it is: you've got your carbon nanotubes (CNTs), your single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs), or even your multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs). Then some bright spark develops copper nanotubes.

Right, now you need an acronym for those. Let's have a think... Yup, got it:

Photo of nanotubes identifying CuNTs

Genius. According to the supplementary information (pdf): "For CuNT-BiNW heterojunction arrays, the Au-coated AAO template was mounted on the PMMA cell, CuNTs segments were electrodeposited inside the half depth of the nanochannels under a constant current density of 2.2 mA/cm2 for 30 min at room temperature, with a graphite plate as the counter electrode."

There's more - what about bismuth nanotubes? Well, it just gets better and better: "Firstly, BiNT segments were electrodeposited inside the half depth of the nanochannels under a constant current density of 2 mA/cm2 for 30 min at room temperature."

BiNT segments? We love it. A well-deserved VULVA to the Chinese team. ®

Bootnote

Thanks very much to Philip from Cambridge for the tip-off. God preserve us all.

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Although I hate to dignify this kind of thing with a comment...

...please! I'll wager that the title of The Register's award and the attention devoted to a copper-based expletive/body part pun are both silly and offensive to lots of readers.

When The Register pulls its punches, it recalls Punch (of blessed memory). When it doesn't, it smacks of losers like Beavis and Butthead sniggering "He said ... heh-heh heh-heh heh-heh".

Please note that B&B were themselves the real object of satire, much in the tradition of German Lausbuben (rascals) like Max and Moritz, and Struwelpeter.

Why would The Register voluntarily turn itself into a similar object of derision?

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I think

We have a new vulture unit of measurement.

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Possibly already in use...

I wonder if these tubes went into this radio product (NSFW)

http://www.qx100.com/cp/show_175.html

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