Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Monday January 09 2017, @08:29AM   Printer-friendly
from the so-will-DC-have-a-man-of-graphene? dept.

http://news.mit.edu/2017/3-d-graphene-strongest-lightest-materials-0106

A team of researchers at MIT has designed one of the strongest lightweight materials known, by compressing and fusing flakes of graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon. The new material, a sponge-like configuration with a density of just 5 percent, can have a strength 10 times that of steel.

In its two-dimensional form, graphene is thought to be the strongest of all known materials. But researchers until now have had a hard time translating that two-dimensional strength into useful three-dimensional materials.

The new findings show that the crucial aspect of the new 3-D forms has more to do with their unusual geometrical configuration than with the material itself, which suggests that similar strong, lightweight materials could be made from a variety of materials by creating similar geometric features.

The mechanics and design of a lightweight three-dimensional graphene assembly (open, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601536) (DX)


Original Submission

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Monday January 09 2017, @09:01AM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 09 2017, @09:01AM (#451382) Journal

    All they did:

    1. built a model of porous graphene/graphene aerogel - a good bunch of Monte Carlo thrown into the mixture
    2. checked the model against the results obtained experimentally by others
    3. based on the predictions of their model (or just handwavium), 3D printed a porous macrostructure (with regular gyroid symmetry) which their model suggest would do best in compressibility tests; then they checked their model prediction on that 3D-printed macrostructure.

    Wake me up when they'll manage to convince real carbon atoms to fall into those regular gyroid symmetry positions at atomic scales, thanks.
    Otherwise is like "we discovered that substance X kills cancerous cells in vitro" No shit, Sherlock, concentrated drain cleaner does it too.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 09 2017, @09:30AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 09 2017, @09:30AM (#451389)

      I agree the headline is very misleading. They have created nothing but a model although it should be said this is how many great breakthroughs begin.

      I still hope they discover a method for something that can be 3d printed.

      Revolutionary would not quite cover it.

      A long ways off if ever...

  • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Monday January 09 2017, @07:06PM

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Monday January 09 2017, @07:06PM (#451574) Journal

    One of the road blocks for a space elevator is the material for the rope. Assuming they actually manage to produce (and mass-produce) this material, would it be sufficiently strong for this application?

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.