The Lightest Material Ever Made

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bhall
bhall
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Joined: 28 Feb 2006, 21:26

The Lightest Material Ever Made

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How long before this ends up in F1?
Daily Mail wrote:Scientists have developed a solid material so light it can be balanced atop the petals of a flower.

Researchers from Zhejiang university in Hangzhou, China, showed off their newly developed graphene aerogel by balancing a block of the stuff on a delicate cherry blossom.

The sponge-like matter is made of freeze-dried carbon and graphene oxide and is the lightest solid material in the world.

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The lightest solid ever developed: A piece of graphene aerogel developed in a lab at Zhejiang University is placed on a cherry flower in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province

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Delicate: A comparison with this researcher's hand reveals just how puny the flower is - yet it can comfortably hold the weight of the graphene substance balanced on top of it

With a weight of just 0.16 miligrams per cubic centimeter, it is just twice the density of hydrogen - the simplest of all elements - and less dense than helium.

First developed by two Russian scientists playing about with Scotch tape at Manchester University, graphene has already been hailed as a 'wonder material' that promises to transform the future.

Its discovery earned Professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov a joint Nobel prize in physics, with the committee making a special mention of the 'playfulness' of their experiments, and a knighthood each.

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Wondrous: A researcher lifts a piece of graphene aerogel by the static electricity on the glass stick in a lab at Zhejiang University. The sponge-like matter is made of freeze-dried carbon and graphene oxide

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Superlight: Gao Chao, professor of the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering at Zhejiang University, displays the newly-developed ultra-light solid material

In its pure state, the substance is a two-dimensional crystal of pure carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice described by some as 'atomic chickenwire'.

That makes it the thinnest material ever made. You would need to stack three million graphene sheets on top of each other to get a pile one milimetre high.

But this unique structure makes it very light and strong, with a one-square-metre sheet weighing only 0.77 milligrams - yet strong enough to support the weight of a 4kg adult cat.

A sheet of graphene as thin as clingfilm could hold the weight of an elephant. According to one calculation, an Nelly would need to balance precariously on the end of a pencil to break through that same sheet.

Despite its strength, it is also extremely flexible and can be stretched by 20 per cent without any damage, and it's almost transparent.

It is also a superb conductor of electricity — far better than copper, traditionally used for wiring — and is the best conductor of heat on the planet.

It is also, further research discovered, an incredible filter - it blocks all liquids and gases except water, which made for the potential for one stereotypically Russian experiment by its inventors.

'Just for a laugh, we sealed a bottle of vodka with our membranes and found that the distilled solution became stronger and stronger with time,' said Dr Rahul Nair, who co-authored a study describing the results last year.

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Atomic chickenwire: In its pure state, the substance is a two-dimensional crystal of pure carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. That makes it the thinnest material ever made, yet 200 times stronger than steel

Professors Geim and Novoselov serendipitously discovered graphene almost by accident while investigating the electrical properties of carbon graphite - the common material that pencils are made of.

Borrowing a technique used by microscopy researchers to clean the mineral before examining it close up, they found they could peel it into ever thinner flakes using Scotch tape.

After repeatedly sticking and peeling back the Scotch tape they realised they could get down to the thinnest layer physically possible - just one atom thick.

They then attached it to a silicon plate which allowed them to identify its tiny layers through a microscope.

Graphene's discovery has triggered a boom for material science, with its potential applications appearing almost limitless.

But most important of all, its core constituent, carbon, is the basic element of life, which means graphene could spur a new industrial revolution based on components that are biodegradable and sustainable.

‘We are talking of a number of unique properties combined in one material which probably hasn’t happened before,’ said Professor Novoselov in 2011.

‘You might want to compare it to plastic. But graphene is as versatile as all the plastics put together.

‘It’s a big claim, but it’s not bold. That’s exactly why there are so many researchers working on it.’

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Websta
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Joined: 05 Feb 2012, 15:18

Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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I read about this earlier. What sort of applications would there be for this though, it must be incredibly brittle?

I'm looking forward to / hoping for carbon nanotube materials within the next 20 years.

bhall
bhall
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Joined: 28 Feb 2006, 21:26

Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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Given the following, I'd think there are many possible applications:

But this unique structure makes it very light and strong, with a one-square-metre sheet weighing only 0.77 milligrams - yet strong enough to support the weight of a 4kg adult cat.

A sheet of graphene as thin as clingfilm could hold the weight of an elephant. According to one calculation, an Nelly would need to balance precariously on the end of a pencil to break through that same sheet.

Despite its strength, it is also extremely flexible and can be stretched by 20 per cent without any damage, and it's almost transparent.

It is also a superb conductor of electricity — far better than copper, traditionally used for wiring — and is the best conductor of heat on the planet.


Probably "too good to be true," though.

thisisatest
thisisatest
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Joined: 17 Oct 2010, 00:59

Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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Best conductor of heat... I wonder how that other carbon molecule, diamond, compares. It used to hold that same record.
Graphene, I hear, is being used to fortify carbon composites(?). In aerogel form, it looks like it could be used as an inner core in composites as well. replacement for honeycomb? Really, the possibilities are endless. cost will likely be s big issue, at least at first.

Lycoming
Lycoming
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Joined: 25 Aug 2011, 22:58

Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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Aerogels are nothing new. While this particular example is an improvement, carbon aerogels with similar properties have been around about as long as carbon tubs have. If they could use it for anything, they already would have.

autogyro
autogyro
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Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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Lycoming wrote:Aerogels are nothing new. While this particular example is an improvement, carbon aerogels with similar properties have been around about as long as carbon tubs have. If they could use it for anything, they already would have.
I disagree.
It will take time to develop production methods and ways to replace established materials in the market place.
This will happen though.

Emerson.F
Emerson.F
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Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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It was a very cool read very interresting. =D>
Supporting: Ham/Alo/Kimi/Ros/Seb/Hulk/Ric/Mag

tathan
tathan
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Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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bear with me because it's been a long day, but how is it lighter than helium? wouldn't it float :lol:

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hollus
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Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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That's of course without counting the air "trapped" inside, so basically cheating.
Great things might come from graphene, but calling this a solid is a bit like pointing at a cloud and saying "liquid".
Rivals, not enemies.

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Websta
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Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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tathan wrote:bear with me because it's been a long day, but how is it lighter than helium? wouldn't it float :lol:
I think it's because it is filled with air - they refer to the density of the carbon structure alone being less than that of helium. If you could seal off the internal space, then perhaps it could float, but it would most likely instantly collapse under the atmospheric pressure.

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Paul
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Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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If no part of an object is higher density than air, it should float in air, right? And rise until it's average density equals that of air surrounding it...

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Websta
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Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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The structure of graphene is made from atomic-level thin sheets of carbon. I don't see how this structure alone can be less dense than helium given that carbon has a lot more atomic mass than helium, so I thought they might be referring to the structure and the internal vacuum space as being less dense than the equivalent volume of helium gas. That would be quite a strange way to describe the material though, so maybe I have misinterpreted it.

According to Archimedes principle, the upwards buoyant force experienced by an object within a fluid is equal to the mass of the fluid it displaces, so yes if the structure itself were less dense than air, it would produce a buoyant force, providing that air did not exist in higher pressure within the object.

However, given that the volume of the structure itself is so tiny, this buoyancy force would be pretty tiny. Perhaps so small that mild electrostatic interactions are enough to keep it from floating away completely?

tathan
tathan
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Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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Yes they must mean on average without air, because the other way still doesn't work #-o

If you take something lighter than air and mix it with air, you get something which on average is lighter than air??

If I had a box of golf balls and then replaced half the golf balls with ping pong balls, i'd have a lighter box. Because the thing I'm replacing golf balls with is less dense.

I think they're telling porkies or someone's misunderstood along the reporting grapevine.

tathan
tathan
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Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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Incidentally, according to quick calculations, a big light-gauge cardboard box weighs less than air.

TechGeek
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Re: The Lightest Material Ever Made

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The graphene is a definite material for future use in formula 1. Very Light, 200 times stronger than steel and with some more features that making it unique. I made some search over the web and found some more info about it here:

Just an atom thick and 200 times stronger than steel and a near-perfect conductor

here

Graphene could deliver Internet speeds upto a hundred times faster

and here:

Jagged graphene edges can slice into cell membranes

It seems that after some research graphene might be the material as commonly used as a steel or silicon is today. So there is definitely a market for it in the future and large companies won't hesitate to spend a money on it