Experts make paper stronger than iron

The Times of India ^ | 11 Jun 2008, 0031 hrs IST | Henry Fountain

[CarrotAndStick]

This newspaper is printed on paper made from cellulose fibers obtained from wood pulp. The fibers are fairly large, on the order of tens of micrometers wide, and the resulting paper is fairly weak — pulls on it and it tears easily.

Researchers in Sweden and Japan have developed a much stronger paper, made from much smaller fibrils of cellulose.

This "nanopaper" has a tensile strength greater than that of cast iron.

Marielle Henriksson of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and colleagues used enzymes and a gentle beating technique to produce fibrils on the order of tens of nanometers wide, roughly one-thousandth of the width of conventional fibers. They were then mixed with water, and the suspension was vacuum filtered to make paper.

They suggest that this property is a result of the high strength of individual fibrils and the way they adhere to one another.

[CarrotAndStick]

Super-strong nanopaper is seven times stronger, 1,000 times smaller

Jun 10th 2008 at 2:42PM

 

So much for Ballmer's vision of a paperless world -- that is, if the mighty nanofiber paper has anything to do with it. This new paper is made out of the same cellulose your regulation legal pad, but scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden were able to get the fiber so small and defect-free in this version -- about 1,000 times smaller -- that it's more than seven times as strong. By breaking down wood pulp with enzymes and beating it mechanically and then treating the tiny fibers with carboxymethanol, they were able to get the new paper to a tensile strength of 214 megapascals (MPa) compared with the normal 30 MPa. So, why should you care? It's entirely possible that this stuff could replace plastic bags at stores without all the petroleum waste.

 

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/10/super-strong-nanopaper-is-seven-times-stronger-1-000-times-smal/

 

[Psycho_Bunny]

Wait until Zig-Zag gets their hands on this.

[ßuddaßudd]

But will it stop a bullet?

[Uncle Miltie]

If it is also light weight, we could make cars from it and save gas. But a car fire would be a bummer...

[megatherium]

The pen paper is mightier than the sword.

[llevrok]

Recycled TP?

[Anti-Bubba182]

It is wood pulp. If it is that strong, maybe they could make a new kind of building material.

[Flavius]

[steveo]

If it is that strong, maybe they could make a new kind of building material.

The envrionuts would never allow us to make our homes out of wood.

[cripplecreek]

So much for scissors cuts paper.

[LukeL]

This is just tensile strength, how about its sheer strength or compressive strength? Everyone knows you can tug on a piece of paper with all your might and it is tough to rip yet a 3 month old can overcome its sheer strength, and paper doesn’t hold up to well to compression.

[CarrotAndStick]

Perhaps a carbon-fibre/paper/ metal sandwich or composite could take care of that.

[kAcknor]

It's entirely possible that this stuff could replace plastic bags at stores without all the petroleum waste.

OH MY! The Forests! We are cutting down our forrests!

Save the trees! /SARC

[vpintheak]

Just don’t get it wet, or that stuff will swell up!

[GWMcClintock]

Can you imagine the potential for graffiti problems?!

[Reeses]

This could be used to make paper guns, bullets, and knives that can't be detected by normal metal detectors. In the near future the TSA will require everyone flying on an airline to pass through a virtual strip search machine.

[RightWhale]

How do the numbers sound in psi? Steel is usually mild at 60,000 psi.

[Reeses]

Oops, a rather nasty paper cut.

[LukeL]

I do detect a little humor in your post, but we know steel is added to concrete to aid in sheering forces. This paper fiber may have some uses in medicine as blood vessels take a ton of tension type forces.

[CarrotAndStick]

Not sure if it’s the same thing, but from here:

http://atomic-fungus.livejournal.com/

“This “nanopaper” can withstand roughly 31,000 PSI of pressure without tearing. This is for a sheet 0.05 millimeters thick—approximately normal paper thickness. Ordinary paper can only withstand about 145 PSI.”

And more here:

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn14084-new-superpaper-is-stronger-than-cast-iron.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=news2_head_dn14084