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Florida Invention Could Revolutionize Some Products
10/17/08 - 02:33 PM

Associated Press

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Florida researchers have concocted a wondrous new type of paper that’s as light and thin as tissue, but stronger than steel.

It’s called Buckypaper and looks a lot like carbon paper, but don’t let its cute name or flimsy appearance fool you.

Researchers believe Buckypaper could revolutionize the way manufacturers build airplanes, cars, computers and even flatscreen TV’s.

Buckypaper is made of tube-shaped carbon molecules that are 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, but with the potential to be 500 times stronger than steel.

You need a massive electron microscope to see the ultra-tiny cylinders known as carbon nanotubes.

The material has been a lab wonder for the past 20 years, but no one knew how to use its unique properties in commercial production. Now researchers at Florida State University’s High-Performance Materials Institute are solving that puzzle.

They are starting a company to pave the way for commercial uses of Buckypaper. In addition to its heavy-duty strength, Buckypaper conducts electricity very effectively and that makes it a great shield against lightning for airplanes.

Professor Ben Wang says the metal commercial airplanes of today typically get hit by lightning twice a year, but they can dissipate the jolt without a problem.

He says the planes of the future will be made of carbon fiber, like this model plane in the lab, because it’s lighter and can save on fuel costs. But it’s also vulnerable to lightning strikes.

Wang envisions Buckypaper as a lightning shield for the planes of the future.

Wang also sees Buckypaper as something that will be in many materials in the future and we all will use it in some form or another on a daily basis.

The long-range goal is to use Buckypaper to build airplanes, cars and possibly for military applications such as armor plating.

The lab wonder, developed more than 20 years ago during an experiment re-creating the conditions in a star, is now offering real-world value as a result of the work of these engineers at Florida State.
   
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)