▎ 摘　　要

We develop elasticity theory to predict the energies of topological defects in carbon nanostructures. The theory is a simple, quantitatively accurate and transferable continuum approach to predicting defect formation energies that obviates the need for computationally expensive quantum mechanical methods. Thus the theory has the potential to serve as the basis for thermodynamic and multi-scale modelling of the structural properties of carbon nanostructures.