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Scientists Identify Possible New Substance With Highest Melting Point
JoshuaZ writes: Researchers from Brown University have tentatively identified an alloy of hafnium, nitrogen and carbon as having an expected melting point of about 7,460 degrees Fahrenheit (4120 Celsius). This exceeds that of the previous record-breaker, tantalum hafnium carbide, which melts at 7,128 F (3942 C). Its record stood for almost a century. At this point, the new alloy is still hypothetical, based on simulations, so the new record has not yet been confirmed by experiment. The study was published in Physical Review B (abstract), and a lay-summary is available at the Washington Post. If the simulations turn out to be correct, the new alloy may be useful in parts like jet engines, and the door will be opened to using similar simulations to search for substances with even higher melting points or with other exotic properties.
If the simulations turn out to be correct, the new alloy may be useful in parts like jet engines, and the door will be opened to using similar simulations to search for substances with even higher melting points or with other exotic properties.
No, it won't. Materials for jet engines must be reasonably affordable, machinable or otherwise workable, and available in large quantities. I have about 4600 lbs [2086kg] of 422 stainless going through my shop right now for a single row of blades for one machine. They're big blades, but even for small blades, hundreds of pounds of material is common. An alloy of hafnium, nitrogen and carbon isn't going to be cheap enough for that to ever be feasible. It is probably a brittle material as well. Brittle materials and a high vibration environment don't mix.
Maybe you could apply it as a coating, but I'm not sure how that would be possible. Almost all coatings of this type require you to liquify or vaporize the coating material. Plus, you run into the same problem as before- a thin coating won't protect the base metal, and a thick one would be prohibitively expensive.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
With current fuels, no. However, if you can build engines with much higher melting points the options for fuels grows and you may get an engine with higher power, better fuel efficiency or both. Or you could just end up with a really expensive paper weight. That's why modern companies are so skittish about R&D.
"Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
Yeah right slashdot! Stop giving us hope for new fancy material with potential application in engineering! We only care about politics and social issues! This is slashdot, not a geek news website!
Engineers come from all walks of life, and don't usually wear signs that say "Hello, my name is engineer". You could have been near one at the grocery store, on the bus, or in line at Starbucks. So my question is, how do you *know* for certain you aren't near an engineer, right now?
"Nowhere near an engineer"... so, you're riding in the caboose, then?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
a rocket propelled steerable solar system
Unfortunately you're propelling the shell, not the star.
You keep milking that cheesy cow fetish whey too much.
I'm guessing the material should be quite happy to sit at 4000K, which would make for a much higher luminous efficiency than tungsten. Kind of like a 21st century version of the Nernst lamp (which was twice as efficient as a carbon filament, but half of tungsten's efficiency).
A Shadeless room is a brighter room.