New Indestructable Rubber

[Cogman]

Linky

"Terrible, horrible things can be done to this millimeters-thick patch of shimmering material crafted by chemists at NanoSonic in Blacksburg, Virginia. Twist it, stretch it double, fry it to 200°C, douse it with jet fuel?the stuff survives. After the torment, it snaps like rubber back to its original shape, all the while conducting electricity like solid metal. ?Any other material would lose its conductivity,? says Jennifer Hoyt Lalli, NanoSonic?s director of nanocomposites. "

 

[talyn00]

Interesting article

 

[dds14u]

Hmm...That stuff is probably more expensive than gold

 

[Cogman]

Originally posted by: dds14u
Hmm...That stuff is probably more expensive than gold

Ahh come on, it only takes 3 days to make a 1 ft^2 sample with high speed robots, It cant be THAT expencive

 

[TuxDave]

Holy crap... how did they do that?

 

[Cogman]

"The manufacturing process, called electrostatic self-assembly, starts with two buckets of water-based solutions?one filled with positively charged metallic ions, the other with oppositely charged elastic polymers. The robot dips a charged substrate (glass, for example) alternately from one bucket to the next. The dipping slowly builds up tight, organized layers of molecules, bonded firmly by opposing charges. Afterward the substrate is removed, leaving a freestanding sheet of Metal Rubber. "

 

[Cogman]

see its simple

 

[DrPizza]

I find it interesting that in the promotion of the product, they state "fry fry it to 200°C, douse it with jet fuel" together in the same sentence... I immediately had an image of it being in a conflagration caused by burning jet fuel - but that's not the case.. That's less than 400°F. Jet fuel burns a little hotter than that... More like 1600°F. (hot enough to melt steel) Thus, the inclusion of "jet fuel" in the sentence can only be to dramatize the "fry it" statement... misleading at best. I never heard of jet fuel as a common solvent.

Pop Sci has exagerated the potential uses of stuff for years.... Maybe I'm just a doubting Thomas (and my name IS Thomas), but, I think the product is being hyped up a little too much, and as usual, the potential applications aren't realistic. (well, most of them) They make it seem like there's never been something that can conduct electricity and be flexible... Far from the truth. (just look at the cables in your computer...)

 

[DrPizza]

(or in other words.... I wouldn't invest in stock in that company... not yet, at least)

 

[Cogman]

(Im Thomas too...) I think one of the big reasions they hype it is because they say that it does not loose condutivity from being constantly bent. If cables are bent back and forth too much they will eventually degrade and break. (however it would take a lot of bending to stop that). I think that there is a practical aplication if this stuff can stop a bullet (IE bullet does not break through it) it could have some life saving aplication there. True a bullet would probibly cause a lot of damage, but it would not penitrate.

 

[rainypickles]

well, if something were made indestructable, we would have to be very careful about how much we make and what we make. we don't want this to sit around in landfills. wait, we do that already.

 

[Mik3y]

coolness

 

[earthling30]

very cool

 

[VTHodge]

Blacksburg, VA = VT Baby!

 

[zephyrprime]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I find it interesting that in the promotion of the product, they state "fry fry it to 200°C, douse it with jet fuel" together in the same sentence... I immediately had an image of it being in a conflagration caused by burning jet fuel - but that's not the case.. That's less than 400°F. Jet fuel burns a little hotter than that... More like 1600°F. (hot enough to melt steel) Thus, the inclusion of "jet fuel" in the sentence can only be to dramatize the "fry it" statement... misleading at best. I never heard of jet fuel as a common solvent.

Pop Sci has exagerated the potential uses of stuff for years.... Maybe I'm just a doubting Thomas (and my name IS Thomas), but, I think the product is being hyped up a little too much, and as usual, the potential applications aren't realistic. (well, most of them) They make it seem like there's never been something that can conduct electricity and be flexible... Far from the truth. (just look at the cables in your computer...)

Yeah, 200C isn't really a lot at all. There are already plastics that easily survive that temperature and silicone can easily survive that temperture also.

 

[Tiamat]

Yeah, this material is definately interesting, however a bullet proof vest made completely of carbon nanotubes... supposedly projected to be stronger than diamond.

 

[BadThad]

You could make a lot of wire out of that 1ft² piece.

 

[DrPizza]

Think about it... compare this to a sheet of regular rubber.... a sheet of regular rubber will stand up to the exact same "abuse" that this stuff is standing up to. The only difference, is this stuff has been doped to conduct electricity. Big deal.

Also, Tiamat, diamond isn't "strong" --- diamond is "hard."

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Think about it... compare this to a sheet of regular rubber.... a sheet of regular rubber will stand up to the exact same "abuse" that this stuff is standing up to. The only difference, is this stuff has been doped to conduct electricity. Big deal.

Also, Tiamat, diamond isn't "strong" --- diamond is "hard."

yes, sorry for the incorrect wording. If it where to be used for bullet-proof vest material, the fineness of the carbon nanotubes is what might actually grant protection

 

[fuzzynavel]

nice..should have quite an impact......could be used in applications where electrical conductance and durability have come into question such as in harsh climates.....sub-sea piping,communications etc

 

[Bassyhead]

neat

 

[The J]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Yeah, this material is definately interesting, however a bullet proof vest made completely of carbon nanotubes... supposedly projected to be stronger than diamond.

Carbon nanotubes are definately far, far stronger. I read an article in Wired a few years back stating that NASA wants to use it to make an elevator to space. A 3" ribbon of this stuff would be enough to pull parts of the space station into space. Below is another article about it, since I couldn't find the Wired one:



Carbon Nanotube Elevator