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Aerographite Is the World's Lightest Material, Is a Total Airhead and Kind of Weird
By Kevin Lee, PCWorld Jul 16, 2012 9:50 AM
The last time we looked at ultra-lightweight materials, we were thoroughly impressed by a spongy, metallic micro-lattice that held a density of 0.9 milligrams per cubic centimeter (mg/cc). Now, a team of German scientists from the Technical University of Hamburg and University of Kiel has developed a new carbon-nanotube-based material called Aerographite that?s four times lighter at 0.2mg/cc.
As you might have surmised from Aerographite?s name, it?s a material made of mostly air--99.99 percent, to be exact--along with carbon nanotubes. The scientists created the material by growing an interlinking chain of carbon nanotubes onto a zinc oxide template.
Despite Aerographite?s lightweight nature, it?s actually quite tough. The material is robust enough to support 40,000 times its own weight. If you were to squish Aerographite like a sponge, it would just spring back into its original shape. The scientist tested this by compressing a three-millimete-tall piece of Aerographite down to a few hundred micrometers.
Detailed information:
http://www.pcworld.c....html#tk.hp_new
By Kevin Lee, PCWorld Jul 16, 2012 9:50 AM
The last time we looked at ultra-lightweight materials, we were thoroughly impressed by a spongy, metallic micro-lattice that held a density of 0.9 milligrams per cubic centimeter (mg/cc). Now, a team of German scientists from the Technical University of Hamburg and University of Kiel has developed a new carbon-nanotube-based material called Aerographite that?s four times lighter at 0.2mg/cc.
As you might have surmised from Aerographite?s name, it?s a material made of mostly air--99.99 percent, to be exact--along with carbon nanotubes. The scientists created the material by growing an interlinking chain of carbon nanotubes onto a zinc oxide template.
Despite Aerographite?s lightweight nature, it?s actually quite tough. The material is robust enough to support 40,000 times its own weight. If you were to squish Aerographite like a sponge, it would just spring back into its original shape. The scientist tested this by compressing a three-millimete-tall piece of Aerographite down to a few hundred micrometers.
Detailed information:
http://www.pcworld.c....html#tk.hp_new
