The end of heavy metal: Boeing shows off material that is 99.99% AIR and could lead to new generation of planes and spaceships.
Microlattice was inspired by the structure of human bones, Made up of interconnected hollow tube, Each tube has a wall 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, Egg wrapped in the material would survive a 25 story drop
Boeing says an egg wrapped in the new material would survive a 25 story drop. They expect to use it to reduce the weight of planes, and is so light that is can sit on top of a a dandelion.
Boeing has revealed the world's lightest metal structure, which it claims is 99.99% hollow.
The revolutionary breakthrough claims to be 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and could be the future for aeronautical design, and is so light that is can sit atop a dandelion
Called a microlattice, it is so strong the firm says an egg wrapped in the material would survive a 25 story drop .
The material, called Microlattice, is a 3D open-cellular polymer structure made up of interconnected hollow tubes, each with a wall 1,000 times thinner than a human hair.
'One of the main applications that we've been looking into is structural components in aerospace,' said Sophia Yang, Research Scientist of Architected Materials at HRL Labs who worked with Boeing on the project.
'The trick is to fabricate a lattice of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness of 100 nanometers, 1,000 times thinner than a human hair,' Dr. Tobias Schaedler of HRL said.
In addition to its ultra-low density, the material's cellular architecture gives rise to unprecedented mechanical behavior for a metal, including complete recovery from compression exceeding 50% strain and extraordinarily high energy absorption.
Where it could be used
HRL, which worked with Boeing on the project, says it could find its way into planes firstly in flooring, seat frames and walls.
The firm is also working with Nasa on future spacecraft designs, while DARPA hope to use it for energy damping.
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