Here's a pair of uber-cool advances in our control of the periodic elements...
Materials scientist Afsaneh Rabiei has developed a substance that is ultra lightweight, but stronger than a block of steel - and when placed under extreme pressure, it can absorb shock without shattering.
Rabiei hasn't produced the first metal foam, but says hers the strongest. The main weakness of existing metal foams is the varying sizes of their cells — tiny pockets of space inside the material. Instead, she used cells of standard sizes and combined them with a metallic matrix to support the cell walls. Five years of research and rough traffic accident calculations showed that by inserting two pieces of the composite metal foam behind the bumper of a car traveling 28 mph, the impact would feel the same to passengers as impact traveling at only 5 mph.
When the material is tested in a lab, a high-powered machine smashes a piece of steel foam straight down into the base plate of the machine, and then does the same thing with a piece of bulk steel. Examining the base plates under both samples, there’s a clear indentation left under the bulk steel sample, while the plate under the foam shows no indentation - the foam absorbed the energy and protected the plate, while the steel simply transferred it to the base plate with no protection.
Among potential applications are orthopedic implants and body armor, as well as airplane, boat, and automobile manufacturing.
Closer to retail is a liquid glass spray (technically termed “SiO2 ultra-thin layering”), which consists of almost pure silicon dioxide (silica, the normal compound in glass) extracted from quartz sand. Water or ethanol is added, depending on the type of surface to be coated. There are no additives, and the nano-scale glass coating bonds to the surface because of the quantum forces involved. According to the manufacturers, liquid glass has a long-lasting antibacterial effect because microbes landing on the surface cannot divide or replicate easily.
Liquid glass was invented in Turkey though the patent is held by a German company. Food processing companies in Germany have already carried out trials of the spray, and found sterile surfaces that usually needed to be cleaned with strong bleach to keep them sterile needed only a hot water rinse if they were coated with liquid glass. The levels of sterility were higher for the glass-coated surfaces, and the surfaces remained sterile for months. Other organizations, such as a train company and a hotel chain in the UK, and a hamburger chain in Germany, are also testing liquid glass for a wide range of uses.
The liquid glass spray produces a water-resistant coating only around 100 nanometers (15-30 molecules) thick. On this nanoscale the glass is highly flexible and breathable. The coating is environmentally harmless and non-toxic, and easy to clean using only water or a simple wipe with a damp cloth. It repels bacteria, water and dirt, and resists heat, UV light and even acids.
Rabiei hasn't produced the first metal foam, but says hers the strongest. The main weakness of existing metal foams is the varying sizes of their cells — tiny pockets of space inside the material. Instead, she used cells of standard sizes and combined them with a metallic matrix to support the cell walls. Five years of research and rough traffic accident calculations showed that by inserting two pieces of the composite metal foam behind the bumper of a car traveling 28 mph, the impact would feel the same to passengers as impact traveling at only 5 mph.When the material is tested in a lab, a high-powered machine smashes a piece of steel foam straight down into the base plate of the machine, and then does the same thing with a piece of bulk steel. Examining the base plates under both samples, there’s a clear indentation left under the bulk steel sample, while the plate under the foam shows no indentation - the foam absorbed the energy and protected the plate, while the steel simply transferred it to the base plate with no protection.
Among potential applications are orthopedic implants and body armor, as well as airplane, boat, and automobile manufacturing.
Closer to retail is a liquid glass spray (technically termed “SiO2 ultra-thin layering”), which consists of almost pure silicon dioxide (silica, the normal compound in glass) extracted from quartz sand. Water or ethanol is added, depending on the type of surface to be coated. There are no additives, and the nano-scale glass coating bonds to the surface because of the quantum forces involved. According to the manufacturers, liquid glass has a long-lasting antibacterial effect because microbes landing on the surface cannot divide or replicate easily.
Liquid glass was invented in Turkey though the patent is held by a German company. Food processing companies in Germany have already carried out trials of the spray, and found sterile surfaces that usually needed to be cleaned with strong bleach to keep them sterile needed only a hot water rinse if they were coated with liquid glass. The levels of sterility were higher for the glass-coated surfaces, and the surfaces remained sterile for months. Other organizations, such as a train company and a hotel chain in the UK, and a hamburger chain in Germany, are also testing liquid glass for a wide range of uses.
The liquid glass spray produces a water-resistant coating only around 100 nanometers (15-30 molecules) thick. On this nanoscale the glass is highly flexible and breathable. The coating is environmentally harmless and non-toxic, and easy to clean using only water or a simple wipe with a damp cloth. It repels bacteria, water and dirt, and resists heat, UV light and even acids.
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