• Question: IS it humanlypossible, at our current technological state to create a nanomaterial that could withstand high heats OR long falls, even possibly bullets for military use? It doesnt matter if it costs trillions,is it possible?

    Asked by ldshadowlord to Andrew, Ash, Gem, Paige, SJ on 28 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: SarahJayne Boulton

      SarahJayne Boulton answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      I reckon it’s totally possible given enough time, testing and funding.

      I reckon Graphene might be the best candidate for this kind of work, although we don’t really know a whole lot about it right now. Graphene is essentially graphite (like in pencils) but in a layer less than 10 atoms thick – you can learn more about this nanomaterial here ::

      http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/emerging-tech/2011/06/10/the-10-strangest-facts-about-graphene-40093050/

      I’m hopefully going to be collaborating on making some new biosensors using graphene – fingers crossed!!

    • Photo: Paige Brown

      Paige Brown answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      I think that is definitely possible!!!

      Some materials researchers are trying to make materials that mimic the strands of a spider web, which are VERY strong for their size!! Such materials could withstand bullets, perhaps!

      “The silk that spiders use to build their webs, trap their prey and dangle from your ceiling is one of the strongest materials known.Markus Buehler, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering (CEE) at MIT, has previously analyzed the complex, hierarchical structure of spider silk and its amazing strength — on a pound-for-pound basis, it’s stronger than steel. Now, Buehler and his colleagues have applied their analysis to the structure of the webs themselves, finding evidence of the key properties that make webs so resilient and relating those properties back to the molecular structure of silk fibers.” http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/spider-web-strength-0202.html

      There are many materials in nature that, if scientists could mimic with nanomaterials, could withstand high heats and high stresses! The key is finding key material properties, like type of material, sketchiness, structure, chemical composition, and other properties of the material itself that can give it different abilities!

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