Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Reconfigured Graphene 10X Strong, 5 Percent Dense, As Steel
Industrious MIT researchers have created a reconfigured graphene, a porous material ten times stronger than steel, and yet only 5% as dense.
(Reconfigured graphene)
The material is composed of graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon that's considered to be the strongest of all known materials. But because the 2D form of graphene is so thin—it's only one atom thick—it's impractical for building purposes. The team's breakthrough is in creating a 3D geometry out of graphene using a combination of heat and pressure.As detailed in a paper published today in the journal Science Advances, they developed computational models of the form and then recreated it with graphene. The kicker? During testing, they found that the samples of the porous material were ten times stronger than steel, even though they were only 5% as dense...
But Qin believes that the potential applications for the material aren't limited to buildings on Earth. It's in shipping supplies into space to build space stations, or even colonies, that such a lightweight building material could dramatically reduce costs.
I love science-fictional materials, so naturally I'm reminded of alohydrolium, the lightest of all metals, introduced by Hugo Gernsback in his 1911 scientifiction classic Ralph 124c 41 +.
Of course, it's a popular idea. You might want to take a look at helio-beryllium from Out Around Rigel (1931) by Robert H. Wilson, sodaluminum from Exiles of the Moon (1931) by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat) and harbenite from Tarzan at the Earth's Core (1929) by Edgar Rice Burroughs. And don't forget nothing from It was Nothing - Really! (1969) by Theodore Sturgeon.
Update 08-Jan-2017: Ultralight materials were a staple in the architectural visions of scientifiction writers like A.G. Stangland, writing in The Ancient Brain in 1929:
Out of respect for my natural wonderment, Jak pointed out to me and explained the ultra-modern objects of my interest. The buildings were constructed of an alloy metal which was extremely strong and light in mass. It had made possible the graceful sweeping finish of the skyscrapers, which seemed to have an average height of twenty stories. Between the towering masses of metal stretched spidery suspension pathways, the sidewalks of which were moving, thus transporting pedestrians.
End update.
Via Fastcodesign. Thanks to David Brin who tweeted about this material.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/3/2017)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Material ")
MXenes - Atomic-Thin Metal Sheets Now Easier To Make
'...a rolled-up sheet of a thin, dark metal strange to them.' - John Edwards, 1934.
Do We Still Need Orbiting Factories?
'... his contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory complex.' - Jerry Pournelle, 1976.
MIT Self-Assembling Reprogrammable Materials
'Faster the cubes moved; faster the circle revolved; the pyramids raised themselves, stood bolt upright on their square bases...' - Abraham Merritt, 1920.
Tiny Mining - Extract Precious Industrial Minerals From Your Own Body
'Jim, I saw them reduce four of my doctors and nurses into those little cubes!' - Gene Roddenberry, 1968.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Barista Robot Perfects Latte Swirl With Multi-DOF Wriggle
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
Vendetta 2023 All-Terrain Skateboard Could Use Neal Stephenson's Smartwheels
'If you surf over a bump... If you surf over a pothole...'
Safe Street Rebel Autonomous Vehicle Luddites And Schachner's 1931 Robot-Deranger
'Then the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and they stood an instant transfixed...'
The Electric Balance Bicycle And The Decline Of Western Civilization
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'
'Droplet' Battery Microscale Power Pack
'...a power pack the size of a pea.'
ARX-5 Doing Robot Arm Dancing
It's Data's day - at last.
CD, DVD Bit Rot And PKD's Civic Notification Distorter
'...copy two of the original document no longer can be superimposed on copy one.'
Inbiodroid Prometheus 2.0 Telepresence Avatar Robot
My prize robot, tall, dashing would speak and act for me...
Amazon One Is Frank Herbert's Palm Lock
'A palm lock must be keyed to one individual's hand shape and palm lines.'
DroneDog Ground Security Robot Dogs From Asylon
'I have transferred the ego of a dog to a synthetic dog brain in the skull case of a robot dog.'
Who Knows What Might Be Found When Visiting A Metal Asteroid?
'...inspect the tiny speck of matter that swam toward them out of the bottomless void.'
Giant Lunar Surface Test Bed Built On Earth
Astronauts first walked the site, then flew over the site at a few hundred feet in a small Cessna.
FlyCroTug Drones Work In Teams Now
'It slid smoothly out of its cell like a metal wasp emerging from its nest, and hung in midair.'
Zai Pits (West Sahel) And Dew Collectors (Dune)
'Each is planted most tenderly in its own little pit.'
Delivery Robots Being Bullied, Robbed
'Robots have worse problems than anybody.' (A Present for Pat)
Zoom Education Idea Is 100 Years Old
'... the frosted glass squares began, one by one, to show the faces and shoulders of a peculiar type of young men.'
