Nanowires, used in sensors, transistors, optoelectronic devices and other systems that require subatomic preciseness, like to stick together. Untangling electrical wires can be a difficult task—imagine trying to separate out wires 1/1000 the width of a human hair. The self-attraction of nanowires has been a major problem for quality and efficient bulk fabrication, with the potential to catastrophically short-circuit nanowire-based devices, but researchers in China have now revealed why the components cling to one each other.
