As Dr Tenne himself would admit, he is hardly a disinterested party in this debate.

ECONOMIST: Was the carbon nanotube overhyped?

It is these discoveries, not necessarily the carbon tubes themselves, that Dr Tenne reckons will produce the applications.

ECONOMIST: Nanotechnology: Pipe dreams | The

Dr Tenne says that his tubes will make, among other things, good lubricants.

ECONOMIST: Was the carbon nanotube overhyped?

There is also the added bonus of celebrating the success in one of the famous drinking establishments in the village - like the Tenne or the Londoner.

BBC: Kitzbuhel, Austria

One of those leading the reaction against carbon nanotubes (so-called, because their dimensions are measured in nanometres, or billionths of a metre) is Reshef Tenne, head of materials science at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

ECONOMIST: Was the carbon nanotube overhyped?