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November 17, 2008
Buckypaper
Design News reports on a new material now in the research phase that is 10 times lighter than steel and 500 times stronger. You've heard of airplanes made from carbon-fiber reinforced (CFRP) plastics. What's next? Well there's a sheet of carbon nanotubes--called "buckypaper"--that may create structures for another generation of airplanes. Carbon nanotubes are already being used as a filler in plastics, but only in loadings of 2 or 3 percent. Buckypaper would use significantly higher loadings. The idea of nanotube reinforced composites is not new. Nanotubes are notorious because they clump and tangle, and no one has been able to produce nanotube composites outside of a lab. Researchers hope that may be changing. Rice University in Houston, for example, has been awarded three patents that advance the technology. Lockheed Martin has been awarded another.This may usher in an age of economical supersonic transports among other possibilities. Another possibility is that it could make low cost battery only cars feasible. Cross Posted at Power and Control posted by Simon on 11.17.08 at 01:22 AM
Comments
I've got a feevah, and the only prescription is a space elevator! And this is exactly the sort of thing they need to make the ribbon. Phelps · November 17, 2008 01:43 AM I was into nanotechnology when it was still microtechnology. Glenn is late to the game. :-) M. Simon · November 17, 2008 02:20 AM "10 times lighter?" I suppose you mean "one tenth as dense". Sorry, it's just a pet peave. Loren Heal · November 17, 2008 12:50 PM One could use it to build SSTO reusable launch vehicles with paper thin fuel tanks and structures that are superstrong. Makes achieving the 98+% fuel mass ratio much more feasible. Robert · November 17, 2008 10:36 PM Well,couldn't you also use it in gas/diesel cars and trucks? Since it is in part the weight of the vehicle that determines how much fuel the engine uses. flicka47 · November 18, 2008 04:30 AM Post a comment
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Nanotechnology? What Simon? You possessed by the demon spirit of Glenn Reynolds?