Slashdot Mirror


MIT Unveils New Material That's Strongest and Lightest On Earth (futurism.com)

A team of MIT researchers have created the world's strongest and lightest material known to man using graphene. Futurism reports: Graphene, which was heretofore, the strongest material known to man, is made from an extremely thin sheet of carbon atoms arranged in two dimensions. But there's one drawback: while notable for its thinness and unique electrical properties, it's very difficult to create useful, three-dimensional materials out of graphene. Now, a team of MIT researchers discovered that taking small flakes of graphene and fusing them following a mesh-like structure not only retains the material's strength, but the graphene also remains porous. Based on experiments conducted on 3D printed models, researchers have determined that this new material, with its distinct geometry, is actually stronger than graphene -- making it 10 times stronger than steel, with only five percent of its density. The discovery of a material that is extremely strong but exceptionally lightweight will have numerous applications. As MIT reports: "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."

149 comments

  1. Called by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    Might Mouse

    come to save the day!

    1. Re:Called by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Unobtainium?

  2. Impressive, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Claiming it can replace steel means it has not only better tensile strength, but also compressive strength, low brittleness, and similar ductility and hardness.

    Glass is stronger than steel, in one direction only. It's not used in structural engineering though. Steel is just so versatile that so far not any material has matched it.

    But, impressive research and I hope they keep going with it.

    1. Re:Impressive, but by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Claiming it can replace steel means it has not only better tensile strength, but also compressive strength, low brittleness, and similar ductility and hardness.

      Good point but you are overestimating the journalists who will just pick one of those numbers and also often get things mixed up with strength to weight ration (eg. the ridiculous nylon is stronger than steel statements are due to a strength to weight comparison instead of just strength).
      Also there are a lot of different types of steel with a very wide range of properties.

    2. Re:Impressive, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um, I've been guaranteed that 3D printed asteroid material is the future.

    3. Re:Impressive, but by tomhath · · Score: 1

      Maybe that's why neither the the scientists nor the article said it would replace steel. All that both said is there are many applications for a lightweight but very strong material.

    4. Re:Impressive, but by Dunbal · · Score: 0

      Not to mention that it needs to be relatively cheap. Like steel. Academics tend to forget that little detail since they rarely have to pay the bill.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    5. Re:Impressive, but by msauve · · Score: 2

      Claiming "strongest and lightest" means it weighs less than hydrogen (new physics!), and is stronger than carbyne (pick something else if you want). Perhaps they mean strength to weight ratio, which is something else entirely.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    6. Re:Impressive, but by Required+Snark · · Score: 0
      Just how stupid are you? Do you actually know anyone doing research? Have you ever been in a research environment, either in the private sector or in academia? I doubt it, because if you had any direct experience you would know that researchers care a hell of a lot about "having to pay the bill."

      In today's competitive environment there are two ways that academic researchers can advance their careers: producing research results that advance the state of the art AND doing research that leads to commercially viable results. In point of fact, it is very hard to get funding if there is no clear relationship between the research goals and practical applications.

      So take you anti-intellectual bias back to where you live in your parents basement and stow it next to your resentment for people who do things that are meaningful. If you ever get that chip off your shoulder you might actually be able to make a contribution to society some day.

      --
      Why is Snark Required?
    7. Re:Impressive, but by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      Hilarious. You seem to know me quite well for someone who doesn't know me at all. Here's a hint: you are arguing with yourself.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    8. Re:Impressive, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Glass is used in the manufacture of some cars - fiberglass bodies. Some houses...

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiberglass

      So it is used in structural engineering.

    9. Re:Impressive, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget reinforced concrete.

      Steel and concrete have the same thermal expansion coefficient, making reinforced concrete possible.

    10. Re:Impressive, but by Immerman · · Score: 1

      Yeah. It's to bad they don't have the same response to oxygen. Steel reinforced concrete is pretty much doomed to fail rapidly, often in only a few decades, as it's ripped apart by the relentlessly expending iron-oxide rods within it. Millennia old concrete structures across Europe stand in stark contrast.

      Then again, building things to last has fallen out of favor anyway. And given the ugliness of most modern architecture, that's probably for the best.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  3. And it's name is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Rearden metal?

  4. Affordable? by JimSadler · · Score: 1

    Will it be actually available or so expensive it might as well not exist? Imagine the fuel savings on a drone, jet fighter made of this stuff.

    1. Re:Affordable? by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

      It should make a hell of a battery powered flappy bird - if they can scale the wings up to relative to the size of the battery and flapper motor.

    2. Re:Affordable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I need a 40 000 km roll for a space elevator.
       

    3. Re:Affordable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Will it be actually available or so expensive it might as well not exist? Imagine the fuel savings on a drone, jet fighter made of this stuff.

      Most of the power ( fuel ) used by an aircraft goes toward overcoming aerodynamic drag. The weight savings this material would give compared to
      composites which are already used for aircraft are not going to be huge, and would not play a significant role in fuel savings, compared to
      other methods such as more efficient engines and drag reduction. Of course anyone who has even a basic knowledge of engineering already
      knows this.

    4. Re:Affordable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who modded this post up ? It's a post which contains speculation which reveals a profound lack of
      understanding of the subject and is misinformation at best.

      I guess the basement-dwelling fudgepackers are the majority on Slashdot now, and so ignorant posts
      being modded up is what results.

    5. Re:Affordable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It will be expensive but sometimes that's not a factor.
      Consider modern airplanes made out of carbon fiber materials - CFRPs are not cheap especially when you are building an entire jumbo jet out of them... but the fuel savings add up, A LOT, when you are flying across the globe.

    6. Re:Affordable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      So a shaving 3000 lbs from an aircraft, to allow holding one more 3000 lb bomb wouldn't matter? Shedding 10,000 lbs while keeping the same power won't improve climb rate and other performance metrics for dog fighting? Sure, the "fuel savings" would be minimal, but the changes to the performance envelope could be huge.

      And the fuel savings on a drone would be huge. Cutting 50% of the weight of a drone will cut the lift by 50%, and that's where much of the drag comes from, so fuel usage will drop significantly. Better in a drone than fighter, as a fighter losing 10,000 lbs would not see a significant re-design, but the design and buy cycle for drones is smaller, so they'd see savings, and sooner, than a manned fighter.

    7. Re:Affordable? by Immerman · · Score: 1

      And how much could that drag be reduced by an airfoil design that needs to provide substantially less lift? In essence, what percentage of total drag is caused by the wings, rather than the body?

      Building he same thing with new materials is usually the least-effective method to exploit the strengths of those materials.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  5. I'm confused by itamblyn · · Score: 1

    I was confused when I read this news report. Here is MIT's release: https://news.mit.edu/2017/3-d-... Is the pink stuff actually printed graphene, or is it just plastic printed in the 3d structure of the graphene form so that they could do a macroscopic mechanical test?

    1. Re:I'm confused by Stoutlimb · · Score: 1

      The last one. Sounds like you answered your own question.

  6. Another choice by application. Steel is machinable by raymorris · · Score: 4, Informative

    I doubt *any* material will completely replace steel. The particular properties of steel, it's strength combined with easy machining and reasonable cost will always be right for some applications, much as brass is still used. Steel didn't completely replace brass, carbon fiber didn't completely replace steel, and this new material won't completely replace any of it's predecessors.

    However, steel allowed us to make things that couldn't be made with brass, carbon fiber works better than steel for some things, and this new material will be the best choice for some things.

  7. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by lgw · · Score: 2, Informative

    There are very few application where carbon fiber is better than steel, because it lacks most of the properties of steel. It's not elastic, it's not machinable, it's brittle, it doesn't wear well. There seems to be no replacement for steel used structurally (including this stuff), for tool steel, for anything that needs to flex a bit in normal use, etc.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  8. Great for Space Junk "capture" by wisebabo · · Score: 2

    Imagine a net (block?) of this material. IF (and it's a very big if) it could be made large enough IN SPACE, then it could "capture" (by absorbing the impact) space junk. It might need to be hooked up to a low thrust but high efficiency ion drive to compensate for the slow loss of momentum from the impact; it needs to stay in orbit (and to change orbits if it's going after multiple large pieces).

    Of course, as mentioned, the real key is can they manufacture the graphene pieces AND put them together in the 3D structure IN SPACE. Being able to create this material out of a (solid?) block of carbon (graphite) is probably essential. Otherwise the density of the structure might be too low to be launched from earth; the low density which might make it ideal for many applications on earth would be a hindrance if it required a huge fairing for the launch vehicle (imagine a blimp on top of a rocket). However, this low density is critical for its success as a space "sponge", it would allow a small mass to subtend a very large volume; essential if we're ever going to clean up the many many small fragments of space junk (and not just the big ones).

    Of course, IF they can make this in space there are many space construction applications which could be practical. Would it dramatically reduce the cost of an "O'Neil space cylinder" for example? The greatly reduced mass requirements coupled with the (hopefully) greatly reduced launch costs from reusable launchers (go Space-X!) might allow really large structures to be built. (I guess you'd still need "soil" and volatiles from asteroid or lunar mining).

    (A similar solution would be to use in space produced aerogels. The problems of making aerogels in space if they require supercritical carbon dioxide as a working fluid may be too great though.)

    Just an early morning rant here in Vietnam, probably had too much coffee.

    1. Re:Great for Space Junk "capture" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A printer outputting tiles of this material might enable fixing broken thermal tiles in orbit. Applications in industrial, construction and energy settings might also be very interesting.

    2. Re:Great for Space Junk "capture" by MrLogic17 · · Score: 1

      This material has more potential as a spacecraft structural component. Weight is the #1 concern for anything going to space.

      As far as collecting space junk - I have yet to see a proposal that addresses the real enormity of space. Imagine building a net or block (made of anything) on the surface of the earth. You want to use this net to clean up random trash people dropped. How much progress would you make over, say, Ohio. Or how about the USA. Maybe you just focus on North America. How big does your net need to be to make a dent?

      Now factor in that space is a 3D volume. Even the cubic volume between LEO and geosynchronous is mind boggling.
      Say LEO is 160 kilometers up, geosynchronous is 35,786 kilometers up. Area of 2nd sphere less 1st sphere is: 192044931750177-17164190 =
      192,044,914,585,987 cubic kilometers.

      Tell me again how big your net is? And how are you going to move around something that large?

      After all that, you've neglected the space junk above geosynchronous.

    3. Re:Great for Space Junk "capture" by Immerman · · Score: 1

      On the plus side, the overwhelming majority of space junk is in LEO, because there's just not much reason to put it any higher unless you're specifically targeting geosynchronous orbit. Beyond that you have a single geostationary orbit, and the associated slightly higher "graveyard orbit" that retired satellites are typically boosted to. But that's a huge volume containing relatively few satellites, all traveling with pretty much the same speed and direction, so impacts and the associated debris are going to be rare. And of course there's geosynchronous orbits, which fill a truly astounding volume of space with the various planes and eccentricities involved, but any given orbit is going to be very specific to what you want to keep (mostly) underneath it, with different orbits rarely coming anywhere near each other - so again, lots of isolated bands containing mostly whole satellites with relatively little impact debris. Easy enough to avoid altogether if you don't need that specific orbit

      So the reality is that you're cleanup is mostly concerned with a spherical shell a couple thousand kilometers thick (with most stuff being in the lower levels) that contains both most of the original junk, and the vastly overwhelming majority of debris from orbital impacts. Big, but also perfectly transparent, so at least it's relatively easy to spot things. It's a start at least? Once we develop more powerful thrusters that don't consume much reaction mass (Ion? EM drive?), a fleet of small autonomous "tugboats" could collect anything big enough to track easily. And a satellite with good optics and high-power fast-targeting lasers could vaporize smaller debris in an constantly moving volume at least a few kilometers across, and potentially dozens. With good enough targeting it could potentially even de-orbit medium-sized debris by vaporizing the leading edge, essentially converting the debris' own mass into crude braking thrusters. It might take many passes to completely deorbit something that way, but there'd presumably be a lot of these satellites sweeping out different orbits, so the job would get done eventually.

      As for using "nets" - seems unlikely to me, it seems a massive engineering challenge to create something large enough to sweep out a useful volume, while also being durable enough to withstand impacts of up to 35,000mph (head on collision) without creating more debris. All while also sharing orbital space with myriad active satellites without hitting them. After all, if you're big enough to collide with a lot of debris, you'll tend to collide with a lot of non-debris as well.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  9. BULLSHIT by sexconker · · Score: 5, Informative

    The material in question is graphene, which they did not create or unveil.
    The structure in question is theoretical, and they have not made it nor do they have any real plans or methodology to do so.

    They made a mathematical model and then 3D printed a PLASTIC model in the same shape.
    They then crushed the plastic model and noted that it was pretty strong given its density, just as they predict a graphene structure in the same shape to be.

    They're not creating the graphene structure, and a macro version of the structure in plastic may or may not exhibit similar properties as a true version made of ultra thin graphene.

    https://youtu.be/VIcZdc42F0g

    I'm all for improved materials, but let's not make shit up, futurism.com .

    1. Re:BULLSHIT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm all for improved materials, but let's not make shit up, futurism.com .

      This is how you publish tons of papers. Baby steps all the way.

    2. Re:BULLSHIT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Making shit up, baby hands all the way.

    3. Re:BULLSHIT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Baby steps back and forth, not actually going anywhere.

      I've seen numerous articles recently where people are publishing work based off of old published papers and confirming they are correct. Groundbreaking work!

    4. Re:BULLSHIT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm all for improved materials, but let's not make shit up, futurism.com .

      This is how you publish tons of papers. Baby steps all the way.

      Sad but true. In academia you quickly learn to publish every incremental step along the way. Publishing one single, coherent, start to finish paper might be satisfying but it won't help your publication record and will hinder your chances of continued funding (and hence employment). The funding system is heavily skewed toward quantity, not quality, of publications.

    5. Re:BULLSHIT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The structure in question is theoretical, and they have not made it nor do they have any real plans or methodology to do so.

      The article states:
      The team was able to compress small flakes of graphene using a combination of heat and pressure. This process produced a strong, stable structure whose form resembles that of some corals and microscopic creatures called diatoms. These shapes, which have an enormous surface area in proportion to their volume, proved to be remarkably strong.

      Sounds like a methodology to me.

      They made a mathematical model and then 3D printed a PLASTIC model in the same shape.
      They then crushed the plastic model and noted that it was pretty strong given its density, just as they predict a graphene structure in the same shape to be.
      They're not creating the graphene structure, and a macro version of the structure in plastic may or may not exhibit similar properties as a true version made of ultra thin graphene.

      The 3D printed models did not happen until after they made their new structure of graphene, in an attempt to answer some questions about other ways to structure the graphene.

      Unfortunately the video you linked only touches on the 3D print tests and not the actual material created with the graphene flake compression.

      Yes I do agree that the 3D models may or may not actually answer those questions or reflect how such structures would actually behave. But even a rough answer of the sort "this seems better" vs "this seems worse" may still be of some usefulness to decide where to go next.

      Best case the models were correct and they develop the better structures sooner.
      Worse case the models are wrong and it takes much longer going down the wrong paths first.

      I suppose with so little other data to base a decision on, the models could still be better than just rolling your D20 for picking what to try next.

    6. Re:BULLSHIT by c9brown · · Score: 1

      There's nothing inherently wrong in publishing in incremental steps. In fact, it can be useful to get peer review at different stages in a project.

      The problem here is that the article overstates the achievement, seemingly intentionally misleading the reader into believing more has been done than actually has been.

    7. Re:BULLSHIT by Aristos+Mazer · · Score: 1

      The MIT link makes it very clear that they actually created this new structure in actual graphene. They did not create much of it, but enough to get its structural properties, then they did the rest of the work in simulation. They go on to say that the new configuration is a stronger 3D configuration for many materials, which is why they were able to do additional large scale work on the *geometry* using plastic. https://news.mit.edu/2017/3-d-... In short, yes, they actually produced the new structure, and they actually did do new work.

    8. Re:BULLSHIT by sexconker · · Score: 1

      I read the MIT article and watched the video. Please quote where they make the actual structure and test it, then compare to the futurism article and the structure shown in the video. For bonus points, compare and contrast what they actually made to what is commonly referred to as a material, and discuss the properties of materials that make them usable.

    9. Re:BULLSHIT by radl33t · · Score: 1

      Your aim here is to deride one of the central pillars of scientific progress? What a douche bag

    10. Re:BULLSHIT by Aristos+Mazer · · Score: 1
      You are correct. There is a section of the document that reads like they created some, but the original paper makes it clear, this was all in simulation. I withdraw my comment.

      Quoting from the original paper ( http://advances.sciencemag.org... ):

      "To understand this difference, we built full atomic models of the 3D graphene assembly in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations by mimicking the synthesis of the porous material. Large-scale simulations based on a reactive force field (22–24) are performed to simulate the process of fusing graphene flakes together into the 3D assembly"

    11. Re:BULLSHIT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Science of the XXI century...
      https://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10098319&cid=53640527

  10. I'm familiar with this material by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    But there must be a more creative use for it than attaching price tags to merchandise.

    1. Re:I'm familiar with this material by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Blister packs:
      "Care must be used to safely open some of these packages, as opening it without care can result in injury; 6,000 Americans are sent to the emergency room each year by injuries suffered in opening such packages."
      We can do a lot better than only 6,000.

      BTW, on the West Coast, we are taking a drenching, so Cable and Internet have been iffy all day. We're back up now, but curiously, all that is on the News are Golden Showers. Funny, I've never heard it called that before...

    2. Re:I'm familiar with this material by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      I find it ironic that .\'s appeal to usefulness all over the place (see tired, failed dialectical Marxism), but then drool over getting their free/stolen episodes of GoT, FPS's, which are often full of half dressed women.

      What is the utility of these things? Isn't this just hedonism with a varnished facade of ideals?

  11. Oversold by Michael+Woodhams · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Here's the most relevant bit:

    The team was able to compress small flakes of graphene using a combination of heat and pressure. This process produced a strong, stable structure whose form resembles that of some corals and microscopic creatures called diatoms. These shapes, which have an enormous surface area in proportion to their volume, proved to be remarkably strong. “Once we created these 3-D structures, we wanted to see what’s the limit — what’s the strongest possible material we can produce,” says Qin. To do that, they created a variety of 3-D models and then subjected them to various tests. In computational simulations, which mimic the loading conditions in the tensile and compression tests performed in a tensile loading machine, “one of our samples has 5 percent the density of steel, but 10 times the strength,” Qin says.

    The video is about testing 3D plastic models. Exactly what they have achieved is unclear to me. Do they have plastic in a configuration 10 times the strength of steel? Did they 3D print in steel, but didn't show it in the video? Did they extrapolate from a plastic model to say that if they'd made it of steel it would be 10 times the strength of steel? Did they use a computer model to say that if they could make the optimal graphine configuration it would be 10 times strength of steel?

    --
    Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
    1. Re:Oversold by Aristos+Mazer · · Score: 1

      They created a bit of the new graphene structure -- not much, but enough to measure the properties of it. Then they did more testing of it in simulation. But what they discovered along the way is that the new geometry was a useful geometry for a wide range of substances, so they were able to test the geometric structural properties using plastic.

    2. Re:Oversold by Pope+Raymond+Lama · · Score: 1

      Over- oversold, actually:

      They did not create even "a bit" of it. The research is about simulation of the structure, and verification on a scaled up plastic model only.

      The original paper is here - they don't come even close to hint they built the material:
      http://advances.sciencemag.org...

      --
      -><- no .sig is good sig.
    3. Re:Oversold by Aristos+Mazer · · Score: 2
      I withdraw my comment. You are correct... the whole process was done though simulation.

      Quoting from the original paper ( http://advances.sciencemag.org... ):

      "To understand this difference, we built full atomic models of the 3D graphene assembly in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations by mimicking the synthesis of the porous material. Large-scale simulations based on a reactive force field (22–24) are performed to simulate the process of fusing graphene flakes together into the 3D assembly"

    4. Re:Oversold by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

      The video is about testing 3D plastic models. Exactly what they have achieved is unclear to

      They have achieved a paper with some interesting theoretical stuff on it, which is what the world pays university researchers to do. If somebody wants to achieve something practical with it, that's what we have profit-oriented companies and engineers for.

  12. Cool! by AJWM · · Score: 1

    But I'm still holding out for scrith.

    --
    -- Alastair
  13. Already Known? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    strong, lightweight materials could be made from a variety of materials by creating similar geometric features

    A foam of bubbles is made out of liquid and air yet is stronger than both. You can 'float' a spoon on top of the foam but not on top of its non-foamy liquid nor on top of non-captured air. Scientists (students?) need to cook more.

    1. Re:Already Known? by Immerman · · Score: 1

      A completely unrelated structure. Foams can indeed be quite strong. So can aerogels. Neither share the specific geometric structure discovered here, which seems to have very impressive mechanical properties.

      Your comment is rather like someone disparaging arches because we already know how to build bridges with ropes and long straight beams.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  14. Possible uses by chromaexcursion · · Score: 1

    The 2021 America's Cup.
    This years boats are all graphite hulls.
    Something stronger, lighter, cost not a major problem.
    Could be interesting.

    1. Re:Possible uses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Think very high-speed aircraft.
      If this material is really pure carbon, heat is not an issue. Chucks or carbon are used as backup blocks around brazing and welding all the time.

    2. Re:Possible uses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ha! What a Maroon! Have you ever gotten a Torch and Oxygen anywhere near a Carbon Block? Hell, just supply enough current and you can have a Carbon Arc. Carbon plus Oxygen plus not much encouragement yields Heat and Carbon Dioxide. Think Chernobyl.
      Carbon is adequate in a _vacuum_ for some purposes. Adequate, not great. This is why nobody used Edison's Carbon incandescent light filaments for the last century. Metal Filaments in an inert gas are _much_ better. (We, for reasons of our own, used Tantalum, or more recently, LaB6.)
      But properly encapsulate really pure Carbon Fiber in a Resin or something, and it becomes much better. Carbon Fiber Masts on Sailboats hardly ever explode any longer, after being hit by Lightning.

    3. Re:Possible uses by Immerman · · Score: 1

      Carbon burns beautifully, it's one of the reasons we use coal as a fuel source. Getting it started, and keeping it going, can sometimes be challenging if there's not enough oxygen reaching the reaction site, as can be the case with a solid block of it. Grind up your backup block, and the dust will cheerfully burst into flame in response to the same torch.

      Similarly, even steel burns beautifully if you've got enough oxygen flow - fine steel wool is actually a recommended emergency fire-starting material for backpackers looking to minimize weight.

      Possibly more relevantly, aerogels are generally very fire-resistant, presumably because despite that fact that they're mostly empty space, the molecular lattice is too fine for oxygen molecules to flow through effectively. This stuff might benefit from similar effects, but it looks pretty porous. It would likely depend on the precise scale of the pores whether it was fire resistant or went up like a torch at the first spark.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  15. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by Immerman · · Score: 2

    Steel has many conveniences that will likely keep it around for a very long time as a general purpose construction material. But I also suspect that for any specific application it will be radically outperformed by a custom-build structure from micro- and nano-engineered materials such as these. The price of course will be a key differentiator for most applications, and perhaps ease of recycling. So it may be a long time before they become desirable outside of particularly high performance applications.

    --
    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  16. Impressive hype, less impressive science by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 4, Insightful

    According the the article they only have a theoretical model for the material and the claim that it is the strongest material known seems to be based solely 3D printed models agreeing with a computational model of the material. This is no grounds whatsoever to claim that this is the "worlds strongest material". It's a promising start which might lead to that but until you have actually built the material and measured its properties you cannot claim the discovery.

    We did not claim the Higgs discovery in the 1960s based on Higgs' theory we needed to wait until there was experimental evidence showing it was correct. The same applies here: there is no guarantee that some effect they have not modelled is important and means the material does not behave as they expect it to. A macroscopic plastic model is not guaranteed to behave the same due to the larger quantum mechanical effects at smaller scales. In fact so far they do not even know yet whether it is possible to build the material - so lets cut the hype and have them make their claim when they actually have the material in hand and confirmed it really does perform as they predict.

    1. Re:Impressive hype, less impressive science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't go getting all 'scientific' on us, this is /.

    2. Re:Impressive hype, less impressive science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      we have ample experience modeling these physics with unnecessarily good precision. you are a guy on the internet out of his depth attempting to make a point on a technicality that just exposes your ignorance on this topic. please find more useful pursuits.

    3. Re:Impressive hype, less impressive science by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

      Actually I'm a physicist pointing out what every competent physicist already knows: you cannot believe a theoretical prediction until it is supported by actual experimental evidence. If you had even a vague clue about the subject you would know that.

    4. Re:Impressive hype, less impressive science by zakonchen · · Score: 1

      I've said it before and I will say it again every time one of these "The MIT gods have revealed to us..." articles pops up: MIT is an academic institution. People have to publish to get degrees. If you want a good grade, you have to make your work sound as impressive as possible. There is no requirement for the work to be backed up with real-world evidence. Therefore, the hype will always exceed the science.

    5. Re:Impressive hype, less impressive science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've said it before and I will say it again every time one of these "The MIT gods have revealed to us..." articles pops up: MIT is an academic institution. People have to publish to get degrees. If you want a good grade, you have to make your work sound as impressive as possible. There is no requirement for the work to be backed up with real-world evidence. Therefore, the hype will always exceed the science.

      What you read is the a press release written by the PR people. The people who publish to get degrees write science papers, which can't exaggerate like this because they'd get slaughtered in peer review.

    6. Re:Impressive hype, less impressive science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why do you physicists always have to ruin perfectly good math theory by making it practical?

  17. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by wisnoskij · · Score: 1

    What is brass used for anymore, other than pure decorative?

    --
    Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
  18. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Er, are you joking? Bullet casings? How many hundreds of millions of those are made every year???

  19. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by spiritplumber · · Score: 2

    my 3d printer's nozzle is brass. So are some motor/generator brushes. It has its uses.

    --
    Liberty - Security - Laziness - Pick any two.
  20. dude by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just invented a device to apply graphene layers to a polysaccharide fabric. I call it a pencil

  21. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let me know when these custom nano-engineered materials get down to $300/ton.

  22. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Carbon fiber is used over steel for a variety of automotive applications (wings, and stressed body panels). Carbon fiber is strong and light (though often beat by fiberglass). In uses where the stresses round to zero, carbon fiber beats steel (skis, golf-club-shafts). Steel wins because it's cheap and mostly strong enough.

  23. Corrosion, weight, shine. terminals plumbing tools by raymorris · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Brass is considered where you want better corrosion resistance than steel (plumbing fittings), shine (visible hardware, knobs), lighter weight (musical instruments) or a softer material (non-scratching, non-sparking tools), or a bit of self-lubrication (locks and keys).

    I have many hobbies and most end up using brass for something. I do electronics, where brass terminals are used for connections. I do model aircraft, which use brass rods because they are lighter than steel. I do pyrotechnics, where steel is forbidden due to sparks. Very often, if steel isn't a good choice for any reason, brass is a likely alternative.

    Of course that doesn't mean brass is *better* than steel. Often you want the harder metal. Each has their own uses.

  24. Re: Another choice by application. Steel is machin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Carbon fiber is most definitely machinable.

  25. So, they found out how to replicate my gf's eyes by Snotnose · · Score: 0

    Say the wrong thing, a look from her binds me to the spot, unable to move, think, or dig myself out of the hole I don't even know I dug myself into.

  26. Too busy reading the Russian report! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    He's probably busy reading the report saying Russian compromised Trump.

    YouTube has proof from 2011 that it's real! It's totally not a 4chan troll fanfic that made the front page of CNN right now. We have really good reasons to believe documents even BuzzFeed won't vouch for!

  27. Nope. They certainly did NOT create a new material by blind+biker · · Score: 1

    This was just a numerical modeling study, with an added experiment using cheap 3D printing and cheap plastic filament to create a theoretical structure - the structure that could, mayhaps, be one day produced with graphene, if and when they figure out how to shape graphene the same way.

    The submitter is clueless, the Slashdot editors are clueless, and sadly, most posters are clueless as well.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
  28. A few misconceptions there. MORE elastic by raymorris · · Score: 3, Informative

    > because it lacks most of the properties of steel. It's not elastic, it's not machinable, it's brittle, it doesn't wear well.

    Maching carbon fiber is a bit different from machining carbon steel, just like machining stainless steel is a bit different. It most certainly is machined. Actually in some ways the machining of carbon fiber is very similar to stainless steel.

    Carbon fiber is slightly MORE elastic than steel. The modulus of elasticity is about 150Gpa with steels ranging about 150-180Gpa.

    "Brittleness" (KIc) can't be directly compared since carbon fiber is a composite, but generally cracking is localized - it's not particularly brittle.

    "Doesn't wear well" isn't scientifically confined, so I can't give hard numbers for that. We can note that the two major typesnof fiber tows and the many available resins allow a designer to choose the wear properties appropriate for the application.

    The big advantage steel has over carbon fiber is cost. While the cost of carbon fiber has reduced significantly in the last ten years, it's still $10/pound in quanity. That definitely matters if you need thousands of pounds of it. It's not too significant if you need less than a pound of material for something you're already spending $30+ on.

    1. Re:A few misconceptions there. MORE elastic by fnj · · Score: 1

      it's not particularly brittle

      Spectacularly wrong. Carbon fiber is about as brittle as china. It has very little toughness. The plastic elongation is next to zero. The ability of steel, aluminum, titanium, etc to plastically deform when overstressed, absorbing enormous energy before rupturing, is what makes them so structurally useful. Carbon fiber acts just fine until it ruptures explosively when overstressed. When a tiny crack develops locally in metal, stress gets redistributed around it. You find that crack during regular inspection and take measures to repair it. In carbon fiber there is no such warning whatsoever.

    2. Re:A few misconceptions there. MORE elastic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You also forgot that laying the fibres in 3D to get the properties you want is notoriously difficult. Another order of magnitude over 3d printing.

      Graphene has the potential to have the strength to weight without having to lay it in a certain way.

      Of course this is a computer model and thus the article is somewhat misleading: NOTHING REAL has been created yet.

    3. Re:A few misconceptions there. MORE elastic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Brittleness" is the plain word for "elastic-fragile" behaviour of a material.
      With growing load steel after an elastic phase becomes (very) plastic. Elastic deformation is 0,1%. Plastic deformation can reach 10-20%. Security of construction heavily relies of that plastic deformation. Carbon fibers, graphene AFAIK not only don't show any plastic deformation, but after the elastic phase they fail (i.e. break) without giving any easily and early recognizable sign of "stress".
      That's why such a material will be used with a fairly large security factor. I won't be surprised to see 3-4.

    4. Re:A few misconceptions there. MORE elastic by stridebird · · Score: 1

      Once steel reaches plastic elongation, there's no further gain in tensile strength to be had, so you have to design respecting the limit of elastic deformation either way. Then you apply working safety factors, but i don't see why they would be any different unless the tensile strength of CF was more intrinsically variable than steel - it isn't tmk. And of course, it has quite different properties anyway so it's never going to be like-for-like in design.

      Your point about inspection and detection of defects is correct. But after a generation or two of commercial development of Composites and CF manufacturing techniques there are other ways to monitor structural health appropriate to the material: Airbus 350 and Boeing 787 have composite fuselages etc and they will reliably detect any defect in the laminate in good time, I certainly hope they will.

  29. Typo: 180-200 for steel, 150 for carbon fiber by raymorris · · Score: 1

    That should say:
    180-200 for steel, 150 for carbon fiber.

    Anyway the elasticity is similar.

  30. Graphene, the material of the future by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

    So it was 10 years ago, so it will be in 10 years time.

    1. Re:Graphene, the material of the future by swb · · Score: 1

      The good news is that its so strong, it can contain a fusion reaction. The bad news is that I think we'll need fusion-levels of cheap energy to make it.

      Fortunately, fusion is 10 years off so we should be able to develop this new material in time to match fusion's development.

  31. Two questions: by mmell · · Score: 1
    1) What specific uses can we expect this substance to be used for?, and

    2) How long will it be before this stuff is commercially available?

    1. Re:Two questions: by speedplane · · Score: 1

      How long will it be before this stuff is commercially available?

      Like all futuristic things that never materialize, we can expect this material to be commercially available in five years. Just need to hammer out a few details.

      --
      Fast Federal Court and I.T.C. updates
  32. In about 10 minutes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Expect to see this used in race car chassis and monocoques.
    Also, based on the article, I would suspect that silicon would also make an excellent 3d structural material.

  33. Inspired in biology? by spinach+and+eggs · · Score: 1

    Often engineers seem to find inspiration in the natural world. Could this be inspired in the bone matrix? Looks like it to me. If it is, it'd be nice and interesting if they were up front about it.

  34. Carbon fiber is plastic by Shane_Optima · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Spectacularly wrong. Carbon fiber is about as brittle as china. It has very little toughness.

    It's a bit depressing to see this volley continue back and forth with no one mentioning the fact that the "carbon fiber" you're referring to is... plastic. Plastic with carbon fibers added to strengthen it, just like fiberglass refers to plastic with glass fibers added to strengthen it.

    From this, there are two key points to make in this debate that so far haven't been made:

    1. The properties of carbon fiber depend largely on the properties of the material its being added to. There are a wide variety of polymers out there and, in principle, you could probably put it in concrete, or maybe even a cold-forged metal.

    2. The parallels between carbon fiber and whatever this new material is are inconsequential if the new material is something that can be used directly and not as an additive.

    The article is shockingly unhelpful in clarifying this second point, and it even cryptically adds that the geometrical techniques here could be used directly with non-carbon materials, which doesn't make a lot of sense given the unique molecular geometric properties of graphene (clearly show in illustrations in the article) are dependent on the chemical properties of carbon.

    1. Re:Carbon fiber is plastic by Jarik+C-Bol · · Score: 1

      I looked at some of the linked article, and watched the damn video there, and the takeaway i got from it was that when they fused the flakes of graphene to form this fantastic new non-2D material, they fuse in a rather geometrically unique way.
      Then; being scientists, they wondered if the magical properties this new strong, light graphene material possessed where due entirely to the nature of graphene, or if perhaps this unique geometric shape it had taken was partially responsible.
      Thus; the science wizards took other, simpler materials, (plastic) and using "THREE DIMENSIONAL PRINTING" they duplicated this intricate new geometric structure, and Lo! verily, the materials they had wrought into this twisted new form (plastic) performed marvelous and wondrous new feats of strength and durability, so bolstered by their newfound shape.

      Sorry, I'm a bit sleep deprived. But yeah, thats the gist of it.

      --
      I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
  35. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

    Steel has one other really important quality: It is cheap.
    The world price for bulk mild steel is about 30 cents / kg.

  36. cherry picking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    By the right figure of merit, my turds are 10x stronger than steel. They are also bullet proof: shoot a pistol at a large pile of my dung and you won't see too much damage. I have a strange suspicion that you won't be seeing anything made from these graphene flakes anytime soon. Yawn.

  37. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Low friction stuff like bearings and gears, especially with oil-impregnated brass. It has plenty of naval applications still due to corrosion resistance and more esoteric industrial applications because of resistance to chlorine. It is also anti-microbial, which is good for self-sanitizing surfaces while being easier to work with than pure copper.

  38. But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What does the title mean? Is it the strongest of all materials? Is it the lightest of all materials? Or is it simply with the best strength/weight ratio of all materials?

  39. Space elevator? by johannesg · · Score: 1

    Could we make one out of this material?

    1. Re:Space elevator? by MrLogic17 · · Score: 1

      As per Wikipedia:

      Space elevator cable would need a cable material with a specific strength of at least 100,000 kN/(kg/m).

      Modern fibre materials such as kevlar, fibreglass and carbon/graphite fibre have breaking lengths of 100–400 km/m.

      Nanoengineered materials such as carbon nanotubes and, more recently discovered, graphene ribbons (perfect two-dimensional sheets of carbon) are expected to have breaking lengths of 5000–6000 km/m.

      So in short... no. A breakthrough of double the strength of graphene gets us maybe 10% there. Space elevators just aren't going to happen for at least few hundred years, at best.

  40. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    What is brass used for anymore, other than pure decorative?

    Pasta dies.

    Brass dies are used on pasta extruders because they can handle higher extrusion pressures than plastic dies, which makes for denser dried pasta and they impart a roughness to the surface of the pasta that helps sauce adhere to it better.

    Also, there's this whole family of musical instruments that started out being made of brass, and as far as I'm aware, it's still a common ingredient for them.

  41. Also steel doesn't burn like coal by Viol8 · · Score: 1

    This is pure carbon which is really NOT something you want to build any kind of structure out of if its likely ever to come near a naked flame or source of heat. It'll have to be impregnated into something else as with carbon fibre which will almost certainly reduce its strength it its even possible.

  42. Re:Corrosion, weight, shine. terminals plumbing to by Viol8 · · Score: 2

    Also becuse of the copper in it brass has antiseptic properies. Something the victorians discovered by chance which is why hospitals used to have brass door knobs and handles all over the place. Of course these days stainless steel is used along with a boatload of disinfectant. Medicine sometimes regresses unfortunately.

  43. watch the video in the link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they came to the conclusion of making the forms walls thicker gave it more strength and ability to longer avoid deformation. who would have thought?

  44. Cost versus performance by sjbe · · Score: 1

    There are very few application where carbon fiber is better than steel, because it lacks most of the properties of steel.

    There are lots of applications where carbon fiber is a superior material to steel. The reverse is also true. Your statement is a tautology. You're saying steel is better because it has the properties of steel. Each material has advantages and drawbacks, both physical and economic.

    It's not elastic, it's not machinable, it's brittle, it doesn't wear well.

    You use carbon fiber in applications where high rigidity and strength to weight is needed. For these applications it is often vastly superior to steel. Saying it isn't machinable is kind of misleading because it presumes that machinability is an inherent advantage when in fact it actually can be wasteful or unnecessary in many circumstances. Carbon fiber reinforced polymers are created using completely different processes more akin to molding or laminating than machining. You're comparing apples to oranges.

    There seems to be no replacement for steel used structurally (including this stuff), for tool steel, for anything that needs to flex a bit in normal use, etc.

    There are plenty of replacement manterials for most of those applications. The reason they typically aren't used is economics. Aluminum for example can be used for many of the same applications as steel but most of the time it is slightly more expensive. Tungsten carbide can make a better cutting tool than steel in many cases but again, cost comes into play. Steel's advantage is more in its economy than in its specific properties for many applications. We don't use steel in car bodies because it's the best material available but because it is a good material that is comparatively inexpensive. We don't use steel for machine tools because it is the best material for those but because it is a good material and is comparatively inexpensive to the alternatives.

    1. Re:Cost versus performance by lgw · · Score: 1

      Economics is rather central to construction. There's no viable alternative to steel rebar in concrete, especially where pre-stressed.

      Steel remains the best material for car frames, because of the way it deforms and then fails under stress - elastically at low energy, consuming a lot of the energy of a collision at high energy. There are some alternatives for non-structural parts, like body panels, but steel isn't just cheap (plastic can be cheaper, after all), it wears well when kept painted.

      Machine tools are all about cost of operation Tool steel usually wins, but of course there are applications where it just doesn't work. Steel is also ideal for a simple hammer - it's the right density, hardness, and so on.

      People fetishize fancy materials that, frankly, aren't good for much beyond having higher numbers on paper.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  45. Carbon != Coal by sjbe · · Score: 2

    This is pure carbon which is really NOT something you want to build any kind of structure out of if its likely ever to come near a naked flame or source of heat

    When was the last time you lit a diamond on fire? Pure carbon burns at 4890F. For comparison steel melts at around 2750F.

    Don't confuse carbon with carbon based products like coal. Coal is a composite material that has oxygen, hydrogen, sulfur and nitrogen. It's no where close to being pure carbon.

    1. Re:Carbon != Coal by Viol8 · · Score: 1

      Charcoal is almost pure carbon and burns quite nicely as anyone who has ever done a barbeque can testify. Try cooking your burgers with chunks of steel instead and let us know how it goes.

      While you're waiting, look up the difference between ignition temperature and combustion temperature. When you do you'll find the ignition temp of diamond is 900C. Steel hasn't even melted at that point.

    2. Re:Carbon != Coal by La+Gris · · Score: 1

      You can set on fire a steel sanding sponge mesh with a lighter or a match.

      The reasons you can not set a block of steel on fire under normal conditions (unless plunged into liquid oxygen), is because of density, ambient oxygen atoms at 1 atmosphere can not reach iron atoms fast enough to sustain enough heat for the reaction to propagate and to exhale enough iron particles. Your steel block will consume anyway slowly burn over years into rust. And while remaining an exothermic reaction, temperature elevation is unnoticeable without very precise measure instruments.

      It is the very same reason why you can not set a block of pure carbon (diamond) on fire with a lighter or a match.

      --
      Léa Gris
    3. Re:Carbon != Coal by Viol8 · · Score: 1

      "Your steel block will consume anyway slowly burn over years into rust"

      Thats not burning, its a straighforward chemical reaction. Burning gives off noticable heat, light and fumes. If you class rusting as burning you might as well class almost all chemical reactions involving oxygen as burning.

    4. Re:Carbon != Coal by Immerman · · Score: 1

      >Thats not burning, its a straighforward chemical reaction.
      So is burning. It's called oxidation. And a great many people do consider all oxidation as burning.

      It's the same chemical reaction either way, and you get pretty much the same energy (heat) released per pound of iron oxidized (maybe some slight differences if the temperature differences fosters different oxides forming).

      The difference between burning and rusting is basically just one of speed. The flame is just a side effect - localized plasma production driven by the high temperatures created by producing heat that rapidly.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  46. Flammability by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Have you ever gotten a Torch and Oxygen anywhere near a Carbon Block?

    You get exciting results with putting a torch and oxygen anywhere near most materials. Not really sure what you are proving here.

  47. Stop asking about space elevators by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Could we make one out of this material?

    Sigh... Please stop. Yes a space elevator is a cool idea. It will not happen in your lifetime if indeed it ever does. Probably not in the lifetime of your great, great grandchildren either. If we ever do get some material than makes building one actually feasible I assure you that it will make the news because that would be a genuinely big deal. No need to keep asking every time someone comes out with a modestly stronger new material.

    If we do someday build one, Earth is probably not the first place we would do it. Honestly we're more likely to build one on Mars or the Moon first because we don't need materials anywhere near as strong. Plus when the first one fails, having it fail in a place like Mars where it wouldn't immediately become a WMD would be a good idea. You don't test bed that sort of stuff over major population centers.

    1. Re:Stop asking about space elevators by johannesg · · Score: 1

      Sigh... Please stop.

      Stop what? Stop dreaming? Stop striving for a better world? Stop hoping we will find something that will truly advance us as a species?

  48. Old news?? by Neuronwelder · · Score: 1

    Science magazines and even magazines like Popular Science, have gone over the electrical and mechanical properties of graphene. I don't get what's new.

  49. Re:Corrosion, weight, shine. terminals plumbing to by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hello Brassman!

    (btw, really insightful post)

  50. Re: Another choice by application. Steel is machin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Um, plumbing? Shit tons of brass used in plumbing.

  51. Re:Nope. They certainly did NOT create a new mater by radl33t · · Score: 1

    I hate it when stupid scientists do theoretical work, or these ghastly numerical computations. Oh god, the humanity when a university press department tries to make it accessible to the general population. Those fools! To think such excitement and conversation over such petty research! Those assholes! They've got nothing on me, I'm out here on the internet sharing my bravely sharing my unsolicited and unqualified hyper critical attitude!

  52. Re:Corrosion, weight, shine. terminals plumbing to by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bacteriostatic, not antiseptic. But yes, there have actually been serious proposals to replace steel door handles/push plates with brass in hospitals for this very reason.

    However, brass was not used in Victorian times for that reason.

  53. Re:Shooting off your cocksucker again troll? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

    Wait a minute. We didn't invoke you. No one mentioned any files or things remotely resembling files.

    Begone!

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  54. True common epoxy is brittle. Fiber is flexible by raymorris · · Score: 1

    That's true, the epoxy resin most commonly used with carbon fiber is quite brittle. I was thinking of some CF I've broken. I'm not sure what the polymer is, but I know vinyl and polyester can be used, along with other polymers. There are two main types of carbon fibers, turbostratic and graphitic, and many types of weaves and layup methods. So there are a lot of combinations with different properties. Some common combinations are quite brittle. If you want a different failure mode, you can have it.

  55. The research is as follows: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The research is as follows.
    Pocket-protected scientists built a wall of iron and crashed a diamond car into it at 400 miles per hour, and the car was unharmed. They then built a wall out of diamond and crashed a car made of iron moving at 400 miles an out into the wall, and the wall came out fine. They then crashed a diamond car made of 400 miles per hour into a wall, and there were no survivors. They crashed 400 miles per hour into a diamond traveling at iron car. Western New York was powerless for hours. They rammed a wall of metal into a 400 mile per hour made of diamond, and the resulting explosion shifted the earth's orbit 400 million miles away from the sun, saving the earth from a meteor the size of a small Washington suburb that was hurtling towards Midwestern Prussia at 400 billion miles per hour. They shot a diamond made of iron at a car moving at 400 walls per hour, and as a result caused two wayward airplanes to lose track of their bearings, and make a fatal crash with two buildings in downtown New York. They spun 400 miles at diamond into iron per wall. The results were inconclusive. Finally, they placed 400 diamonds per hour in front of a car made of wall traveling at miles, and the result proved without a doubt that diamonds were the hardest metal of all time, if not just the hardest metal known the man.

  56. Mithril? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mithril, as light as a feather, and as hard as dragon's scales.

  57. Let's not forget 'repairability'... by gosand · · Score: 1

    I admittedly don't know much about how this applies to carbon fiber or graphene, but it needs to be 'repairable'. You can weld steel, to either repair it or join it to more steel, to the point it is as strong or even stronger than the original (with bracing and whatnot). Anything that would replace steel would need this characteristic.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  58. Questions with obvious answers by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Stop what? Stop dreaming? Stop striving for a better world? Stop hoping we will find something that will truly advance us as a species?

    Stop asking questions with obvious answers. When space elevators become a realistic prospect I assure you we will all know about it. Right now what you are asking is basically the equivalent of asking if some new material would let of build a warp drive. The answer is either "no" or "not anytime soon".

    Believe me, I want a space elevator as much as you do. But be realistic about what it will take to build one.

  59. Having they printed a 30 foot I-Beam yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wake me up when they do. Until then their research is worthless.

  60. Re:Corrosion, weight, shine. terminals plumbing to by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Although different alloys may come into play occasionally, brass is almost heavier/more dense than steel.

    http://www.engineeringtoolbox....

  61. Re:Corrosion, weight, shine. terminals plumbing to by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ayup, the decline of brass fittings and surfaces in hospitals could be the reason why superbug infections in hospitals is now a problem.

  62. Build me a bulk part and by pjv936 · · Score: 1

    then I will believe.

  63. All hail our new lord and saviour by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Graphene is the seriously the second coming of Jesus Christ in metamaterial form. Is there anything it can't do?

  64. Pounds per strength, not pounds per volume by raymorris · · Score: 1

    On an aircraft, model or otherwise, it's not "weight per volume" (density) that matters, but "weight per strength" (specific strength). I care about the weight of a wire that is strong enough, not the weight of a wire of a certain diameter.

    Brass is lower weight for the same strength than common steel. (Though not drastically so.)

  65. Shooting off your cocksucker again troll? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I don't shoot my mouth off without knowing what I'm talking about" - by raymorris (2726007) on Thursday December 31, 2015 @09:29AM (#51215379)

    Raymorris you shoot your mouth off f'ing up in 2 security fuckups https://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=5351503&cid=47379233/ & https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=5351503&cid=47374033/ + raymorris = scriptkiddie https://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=8895203&cid=51726265/

    &

    Tell us how ONLY 'newer script kiddie tools' have stringlength built in (when PASCAL had it for ages - my fav tool) https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=8472509&cid=51114383/ YOU BLUNDERING WANNABE!

    APK

    P.S.=> You like to talk behind others' backs like the gossiping bitch TROLL you are raymorris https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=9880997&cid=53312265/ well, here I am letting YOU TALK in those links, showing your FAILS wannabe ... apk

  66. Steel is not ideal for every use by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Economics is rather central to construction.

    Economics is central to everything. Steel is a very useful and cost effective material for a lot of purposes. It's not the perfect material for every use nor is it necessarily the best for many applications. I cannot imagine steel not being hugely important but let's not pretend it's the perfect material for every use.

    Steel remains the best material for car frames, because of the way it deforms and then fails under stress - elastically at low energy, consuming a lot of the energy of a collision at high energy.

    Aluminum body frames are becoming increasingly common as they are lighter for the same performance. Steel is easier to bend and shape and repair and it is cheaper but in many vehicles where performance or fuel economy are paramount aluminum can be a better choice. Aluminum has been used for space frames for a very long time. Race cars haven't used steel frames for ages.

    Machine tools are all about cost of operation Tool steel usually wins, but of course there are applications where it just doesn't work.

    Tool steel wins except when it doesn't. Lots of machine tools use other materials because steel isn't always the best choice or even a practical choice. There is a reason carbide tools are as popular as they are and it's not because people are willing to waste money.

    People fetishize fancy materials that, frankly, aren't good for much beyond having higher numbers on paper.

    Not when they actually have to pay for them. Seriously, steel is a great material and it's going to continue to be vital but it's not the best choice in a great many cases. Same as any other material.

  67. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by bugs2squash · · Score: 1

    It's also dense, A kg of steel is not a lot of steel.

    --
    Nullius in verba
  68. Re:Shooting off your cocksucker again troll? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does the process to create this new material involve a host file?

  69. Re:Corrosion, weight, shine. terminals plumbing to by erapert · · Score: 1

    Walmart has automatic doors.
    Why can't hospitals?

  70. Publish papers not press releases by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

    MIT is an academic institution. People have to publish to get degrees.

    Academics have to publish papers in scientific journals not press releases with unscientific claims. You don't see this sort of thing coming from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford and yet they are academic institutions which usually rank higher than MIT. If you are truly doing world-leading science you don't need to hype it, just publicize it, because the work speaks for itself. Over hyped claims like this makes you look like you are desperate for attention and undermines the impact of the real result if they ever do manage to create this material and it performs as expected.

    1. Re:Publish papers not press releases by zakonchen · · Score: 1

      That's fair. This is PR hype which can get away with murder compared to actual scientific publications. Although, it is a misconception that peer review is 100% effective at weeding out B.S.

  71. Re:Corrosion, weight, shine. terminals plumbing to by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Automatic doors can require power and would need to be tied into the backup generator system, they are more expensive than normal doors and take up more space. Typically much more space. Could you have thought about that for two seconds before posting? It's not even that it's necessarily a stupid idea, but there are some really obvious problems that you need to address if you're going to suggest this as a solution. If your only goal was to put out some sort of vacuous quip that agrees with the common sentiment in order to gain mod points, well...perhaps Reddit is more your style.

  72. Does Anyone Notice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That all the hype about carbon nanotubes has died down quite a bit? Also graphene has had it's moment in the hype sun and died back.

    My point is, don't bother breaking out the champagne yet. This is early stage theoretical research and they haven't actually made any of this proposed material yet. Not even one sand grain sized sample!

    And even if they do, that's still a long way from building something practical, useful, and receives widespread use.

  73. ColdWetDOUCHE = "Run, Forrest: RUN!!!" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like when you ran when I challenged you to prove me validly technically wrong on hosts ColdWetDOUCHE? http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=5972359&cid=48333433/

    * You are the EXPERT on "begone" as I ran your weak stupid ass off easily... lol!

    APK

    P.S.=> You're a dumb fuck STUPID idiot trying THAT on me when I ran your ass off easily before & you "defend" that wannabe nobody LOSER raymorris https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10103043&cid=53646247/ ? Give me a break - morons of a feather FLOCK together (or are you just raydouche's sockpuppet?)... apk

  74. Shooting off your cocksucker again troll? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I don't shoot my mouth off without knowing what I'm talking about" - by raymorris (2726007) on Thursday December 31, 2015 @09:29AM (#51215379)

    Raymorris you shoot your mouth off f'ing up in 2 security fuckups https://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=5351503&cid=47379233/ & https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=5351503&cid=47374033/ + raymorris = scriptkiddie https://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=8895203&cid=51726265/

    &

    Tell us how ONLY 'newer script kiddie tools' have stringlength built in (when PASCAL had it for ages - my fav tool) https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=8472509&cid=51114383/ YOU BLUNDERING WANNABE!

    APK

    P.S.=> You like to talk behind others' backs like the gossiping bitch TROLL you are raymorris https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=9880997&cid=53312265/ well, here I am letting YOU TALK in those links, showing your FAILS wannabe ... apk

  75. Shooting off your cocksucker again troll? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I don't shoot my mouth off without knowing what I'm talking about" - by raymorris (2726007) on Thursday December 31, 2015 @09:29AM (#51215379)

    Raymorris you shoot your mouth off f'ing up in 2 security fuckups https://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=5351503&cid=47379233/ & https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=5351503&cid=47374033/ + raymorris = scriptkiddie https://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=8895203&cid=51726265/

    &

    Tell us how ONLY 'newer script kiddie tools' have stringlength built in (when PASCAL had it for ages - my fav tool) https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=8472509&cid=51114383/ YOU BLUNDERING WANNABE!

    APK

    P.S.=> You like to talk behind others' backs like the gossiping bitch TROLL you are raymorris https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=9880997&cid=53312265/ well, here I am letting YOU TALK in those links, showing your FAILS wannabe ... apk

  76. Plasteel.... by Jace+of+Fuse! · · Score: 1

    I always think of Plasteel whenever I hear about this.

    --

    "Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"

    Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
  77. Re:Another choice by application. Steel is machina by Immerman · · Score: 2

    Why? At 10x the strength, and 1/20th the density, the breakeven point would be $60,000/ton to get equal strength for equal cost. That will still probably not be achievable any time soon, but you also have the added benefit of your structure weighing 1/200th of what it would have if made from steel, a huge benefit for anything that needs to be accelerated, or to support it's own weight.

    --
    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  78. It's the shape, not the material by omfglearntoplay · · Score: 1

    Look at the video in the article... read the first half. It's the shape they made, not some new fancy material, that is of most interest. The shape is basically a solid "spring", but much more complex.

  79. Re:Corrosion, weight, shine. terminals plumbing to by erapert · · Score: 1

    Your reason for rejecting my idea can be boiled down to "because it's a non-zero amount of effort" so perhaps you disagree with the idea of making anything better.