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New "Metallic Wood" Is As Strong As Titanium But Much Lighter (dwell.com)
Titanium "has long been touted as the metal of the future," writes Dwell, "due to its strength, rust resistance, and amazing lightness." But can careful atom-stacking lead to something better?
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers have discovered a way to create a new "metallic wood" material that is as strong as titanium, but five times lighter, reports Dwell. "So far, the researchers have built a sheet of nickel with nanoscale pores that is almost 70 percent empty space... It was created by building tiny plastic spheres, suspending them in water, allowing the water to evaporate, and then electroplating the spheres with nickel. Researchers then dissolved the plastic spheres, producing an incredibly strong, porous metal that floats on water."
Researchers are also considering the possibility of filling its empty space with an energy-storing material. "For example, a prosthetic leg made from this material and infused with anode and cathode materials, could also be a battery."
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers have discovered a way to create a new "metallic wood" material that is as strong as titanium, but five times lighter, reports Dwell. "So far, the researchers have built a sheet of nickel with nanoscale pores that is almost 70 percent empty space... It was created by building tiny plastic spheres, suspending them in water, allowing the water to evaporate, and then electroplating the spheres with nickel. Researchers then dissolved the plastic spheres, producing an incredibly strong, porous metal that floats on water."
Researchers are also considering the possibility of filling its empty space with an energy-storing material. "For example, a prosthetic leg made from this material and infused with anode and cathode materials, could also be a battery."
i have been assured by the ingravs that such materials can only be made in space by giant rockets and type-a square-jawed men in test pilot suits
Just need to make some FTL engines
"But can careful atom-stacking lead to something better? " - OBVIOUSLY? Regardless of any other factor of course. Aligned structures >strength> unaligned random structures. This isn't rocket science, this is a basic crystal lattice.
Metal sponges are already a thing, only difference between this material and existing metal sponges is the pore size and creation method. This method described is somewhat similar to the way that aerogels are produced. These metal sponges aren't like wood...wood is a composite that derives much of its strength from its fibrous grain.
I might be wrong but I was pretty sure Nickel is one of those materials you don't want internally ingested or used in a biological capacity. Same sort of situation as Silicone. It's fine when it's enclosed, but as soon as it leaks into your body, you are FUCKED.
When did measures like "five times lighter" and "100 times smaller" become accepted? Comparisons don't work that way...
"...a prosthetic leg... could also be a battery."
Just what we need, prosthetic legs spontaneously catching on fire.
Metallic foam is already well understood.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
https://www.tms.org/pubs/journ...
(see especially Figure 4 on that page which REALLY looks like metallic wood; the stuff in the article doesn't so much)
What makes the the linked article interesting is the novel manufacturing method.
Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
This is the old layman confusion between the multiple definitions of strength again.
In this case, it’s probably like with aerogel: Yes, it can support a much higher weight. But it will also break like the lightest meringue you can think of, if you try to break it apart.
Also, to float, the bubbles must be closed. Otherwise it would flood. So if it is closed, the plastic will still be in there.
With the cost of the Apple phone getting so high I'd need a prosthetic limb, and somewhere for extra battery.
...here we come! Let's just fill those pores with helium and make it extra lightweight!
This looks like the micro/nano version of making a pseudo-foam metal by casting in salts and later dissolving the salts.
Laminated between sheets of metal, I'd expect this to kick ass.
I can't remember the last time one of these sorts of PR articles from a University research lab actually made me think it might mean something.
The idea behind this is solid (BTW, is this comparable in a general way to aerogels ?), it's a matter of finding a scalable manufacturing method.
Absolute statements are never true
metallic wood prosthetic leg!
The glass slide with a gold film was cut into smaller samples, piranha cleaned for ten minutes,
Can someone explain this to me?
Think of the music potential
This sounds more durable and non-biodegradable than regular plastic.
Can't wait till our oceans are filled with this crap!
What if they used titanium instead of nickel?
I skimmed the second citation. I may have missed a critical portion, but it looks like they're using a nickel-rhenium alloy. Rhenium is rare in the earth (about 1 part per billion) and not cheap.
They're not going to be using this stuff to make car bodies or skyscrapers.
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How about a prostetic leg made out of nickel?
It will last forever, but if you are not already allergic, you will be in a couple of weeks. Of course you can use it for misiles, drones and what have you, as long as it ends up behind enemy lines. Perhaps a stainless steel variant would be a great idea.
I'm stealing that title for my Robocop fanfic.
On a more serious note: won't the tiny plastic spheres embedded in the electroplated metals be a giant source of microplastics and turn into an environmental disaster during the recycling process?
it's no Raney nickel
If they could achieve scale at a reasonable cost that would be awesome, but it sounds like a small scale specialty material mostly. The process they used sounds more interesting than the actual application, but showing it works with titanium straight off the bat seems smart. What else can that process make?
The perfect material for ultra light ultralights.... imagine how much less they'll weight....
At the more raucous parties back in the day, we'd joke about someone's leg being on fire and then douse it with whatever beverage we were drinking. If this material were used for prosthetic purposes, the gag could become reality. A lithium fueled amputation wouldn't be pleasant, though, I'd expect.
Wouldn't it be "as strong as steel" and "lighter than titanium"?
AFAIK, Titanium is "as strong as steel but much lighter" . . .