"Impossible" 2D material is light as plastic and stronger than steel

www.newatlas.com ^ | February 02, 2022 | Michael Irving

[Jonty30]

This is pretty cool.

We might get cars that weigh 500lbs less that are nearly impossible to dent.

[Jonty30]

I can see this useful for housing as well, if they can bring the costs down.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

It’s arguable that the whole history of mechanical engineering starts with the history of materials.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

Better safety glasses, if the stuff can be made transparent.

Unbreakable store windows. BLM will not like that.

[grey_whiskers]

...bicycles?

[Jonty30]

I like that I’d pay a premium for a bike that weighed just 5lbs and was nearly impossible to break.

It could help E-bikes go from 100km, on a good day, to 150 km between charges.

[Billthedrill]

Gun barrels. The missing piece from a 3D printed firearm. Oh hell yeah.

[Revel]

But Flammable.

[Political Junkie Too]

Rearden Steel?

-PJ

[Secret Agent Man]

In the winter they will just shatter.

[bakeneko]

Otakus already knew that 2D is better than 3D.

[WMarshal]

Everyone thinks quantum computing is going to be the next rage but I think the advances in material science is going to be incredible over the next few years. Advanced physics is now going into design of materials and I can't help but think of the movie 'The Graduate' where a man tells Dustin Hoffman "There's a great future in plastics."

[Getready]

Spider silk is reported to be 5 times stronger than steel and featherweight. Spiders beat us to it. No?

[Jonty30]

That’s how we developed Kevlar, by studying spider silk.

[RoosterRedux]

Plastic bicycle frames!

My current road bike (Trek Madone) weighs 20-ish lbs. Let's shoot for 10!

[dinodino]

It would be amazing for the outer skin on the cockpit of an aircraft, if it meets the tensile and thermal requirements...imagine no heavy glass at all, just a complete 360 degrees of transparent fuselage.

[Jonty30]

That was one of the applications mentioned, a covering of materials to give added protection.

Put it on your vehicle to prevent chips and body damage. May a car bumper.

[dinodino]

I’m not talking about added protection—I’m talking about completely replacing aluminum on the fuselage around the cockpit. It would significantly lighten the aircraft, and provide unobstructed views in every direction.

[dinodino]

...assuming it’s transparent, of course. If it’s not transparent, then scratch what I said.

[Jonty30]

Just as Kevlar is stronger than steel, per pound, but they can’t use it to replace metal, it could turn out to be the same as this wonder material.

It may not be able to replace steel, but they could thin the steel further and use this plastic to provided added protection.

The may not be able to replace an aluminum fuselage, but they might be able to half the thickness of it and then coat it with this material.