Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

3D Printed Graphene Aerogel - So Light!

This amazing graphene aerogel is the lightest 3D printed structure in the world - according to Guinness, anyway.


(3D Printed Graphene Aerogel video)

The record goes to a graphene aerogel developed by Dong Lin, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering at Kansas State University; Chi Zhou, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University at Buffalo; and Qiangqiang Zhang, associate professor at Lanzhou University. The material, which weighs 0.5 milligrams per centimeter, was developed in February of 2016 and will be featured in the 2018 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

“Graphene is a revolutionary material and it makes sense that its aerogel form would be just as important,” Lin said. “Our 3-D printed graphene aerogel has important properties that give the material many applications for better electronics, batteries or semiconductors.”

Graphene is already naturally a lightweight material, but the researchers use a special process to create the ultra-light aerogel. A modified, dual-nozzle inkjet printer is used to 3D print droplets of a graphene oxide and water mixture on a cold plate in a freezer, with a temperature of negative 20°C. This forms a sort of 3D printed ice/graphene sculpture, which is then placed into a freeze dryer to remove the ice and leaves behind the graphene aerogel in its 3D printed shape.

There are still fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs who recall an ultralight metal called "Harbenite":

Erich von Harben is something of a scientist and explorer himself, and the last time that I saw him he had just returned from a second expedition into the Wiramwazi Mountains, where he told me that he had discovered a lake-dwelling tribe using canoes made of a metal that was apparently as light as cork and stronger than steel. He brought some samples of the metal back with him..."
(Read more about Harbenite)

Via 3D Print.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/4/2017)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Material ")

Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.' - Roger Zelazny, 1966.

GNoME AI From DeepMind Invents Millions Of New Materials
'...the legendary creativity of our finest human authors pales against the mathematical indefatigability of GNoME.'

Omniphobic Liquid-like Surfaces And de Camp's Telelubricator (1940)
'So the surface, to the depth of a few molecules, is put in the condition of a supercooled liquid as long as the beam is focused on it.' - L. Sprague de Camp, 1940.

MXenes - Atomic-Thin Metal Sheets Now Easier To Make
'...a rolled-up sheet of a thin, dark metal strange to them.' - John Edwards, 1934.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

AI Welfare Position At Anthropic Filled By Human
'You’re the robopsychologist of the plant, so you’re to study the robot itself...'

Marslink Proposed By SpaceX
'It was the heart of the Solar System's communication line...'

Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.'

Wood-Panelled LignoSat Launched
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'

Laser-Beam Welding In Orbital Factories
'His contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory.'

'Iceberg House' Of Travis Kelce Reflects Science Fiction Of Past Century
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock that folded up to underlie the ridge...'

Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'

A System To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'

Robot Hand Separate From Robot
'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'

Hybrid Wind Solar Devices
'...the combined Wind-Suncatcher, like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'

Is Optimus Autonomous Or Teleoperated?
'I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men.'

Robot Masseuse Rubs People The Right Way
'The automatic massager began to fumble gently...'

Solar-Powered Space Trains On The Moon
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.'

Drone Deliveries Instead Of Waiters In Restaurants?
'It was a smooth ovoid floating a few inches from the floor...'

Optimus Robot Can Charge Itself
'... he thrust in his charging arm to replenish his store of energy.'

Skip Movewear Arc'teryx AI Pants
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.