World's Lightest Material!
November 17, 2011
Researchers from UC Irvine, HRL Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology created the world's lightest material. This new metal would have a density of 0.9 mg/cc which is about one hundred times lighter than Styrofoam. On the picture, we can see that the material lies on top of the dandelion without even damaging it. This is because this material is made out of 99.9% air. This metal was designed as a 'micro-lattice'. Meaning that it is formed by interconnected hollow tubes. The 'wall' of these tubes would be 1,000 times thinner than one human hair. This material could be used for battery electrodes and acoustic, vibration or shock energy absorption.
This article cough my eye when I saw a picture of a material on a dandelion and the dandelion not being damaged in any way. I wonder if they could actually build a building with this metal. Would it hold together and would it be strong enough? I don't know.
Very interesting article Caroline! I am glad that you are now following the correct format, and I can see your thoughts about the article you read. Good summary, perhaps a bit more details.
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