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Scientists Create New Material 5 Times Lighter and 4 Times Stronger Than Steel
- A_D_E_P_T 3y agoThey're talking about compressive yield strength -- not tensile strength -- so "4x stronger than steel" isn't saying very much, as steel isn't a material with a very high compressive strength. In general, ceramics and glasses (both traditional silica glasses and new metallic glasses) all have very high compressive strengths, but very poor tensile strengths. Martensitic steel can combine decent compressive strength with outstanding tensile strength -- and, to simplify things a bit, it's tensile strength which basically corresponds to "damage tolerance" and "resistance to brittle failure." They're also looking at an extremely small sample size that might not scale. Frankly, I'm unaware of any nano-lattice material in use towards any application. So it's cool as a scientific curiosity and a work of engineering ingenuity, but it has no near-term practical applications, and its not stronger in compression than existing ceramic materials.
- BenFranklin100 3y agoUniversity PR offices are the worst. They make PT Barnum look like a modest, understated clergyman in comparison.
- whycome 3y agoWhat does it take to get the designation "scientist"? This always comes off as a red flag in headlines.