A material that is 100 times lighter than styrofoam has been produced by scientists from the University of California, Irvine and the California Institute of Technology. The unnamed new material is made with nickel phosphorous in a nanoscale lattice. It is 99.99 percent air.
This material is even lighter than silica aerogel, and weighs just 0.9mg per cubic centimeter. The announced plans for the material include use for battery electrodes and for acoustic- and vibration-dampening applications. But there will doubtless be other applications that other materials engineers will find for this material.
The techniques used to fashion superlightweight materials may eventually be applicable for use with other materials. Even though there isn't an immediate green tech application for this material doesn't mean that it isn't interesting.
image credit: Dan Little, HRL Laboratories LLC
via: Architect Magazine
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written by Trion, December 10, 2011
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written by dongmingaluminium, December 13, 2011
It surely will be more popuar for many different applications, but what about the costs of such material?
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written by dongmingaluminium, December 13, 2011
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written by Steve, December 15, 2011
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written by Shb15, December 15, 2011
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written by electronics recycling, February 07, 2012
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DEC 08
"I can see the material being used as packing between the layers of mat..."
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