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
 |
'Plastic Steel': Optically Transparent Plastic Nanocomposites
"Plastic steel", an optically transparent nanocomposite has provided Paul Podsiadlo, a graduate student at the University of Michigan, with an award at the 2008 Collegiate Inventors Competition.
"Plastic steel" is stiff and ultra strong, with properties approaching the values of steel and its alloys. Podsiadlo creates the material layer by layer from nanometer-thin wafers of clay nanosheets and polymer; the end product has hundreds of layers.
('Plastic steel' Paul Posiadlo's polymer matrix nanocomposite)
Fig. 1. Preparation of PVS-MTM nanocomposite. (A) Schematic representation of the internal architecture of PVA-MTM composite (picture shows 5.5 bilayers). (B) Atomic force microscopy phase image of a single PVA-MTM bilayer adsorbed on top of a silicon wafer. Top inset gives a simplified schematic representation of the microscopy image. Lower inset is a 1 μm x 1 μm close up of the main image showing individual MTM platelets more clearly. (C) Compilation of UV-V is absorbance spectra collected after multiples of 25 bilayers of PVA-MTM composite deposited on a microscope glass slide. (D) Free-standing, 300-bilayer PVA-MTM composite film showing high flexibility and high transparency. Lower image is taken at an angle to show diffraction colors.
The structure of this artificial material resembles that of the nacre found in seashells. Podsiadlo envisions this material being used in a variety of applications, from body armor to biomedical coatings. Research for the project was initially funded by the U.S. Defense Department and the National Institutes of Health.
Science fiction fans prick up their ears whenever anyone mentions "plastic steel" or transparent materials that are as strong as steel. Frank Herbert popularized the idea of science-fictional plasteel in his 1965 novel Dune.
Star Trek fans will, of course, recall the transparent aluminum from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Scotty barters the formula to an alert 20th century plastics executive.
(The completed formula for transparent aluminum)
I'm looking forward to being able to pick up sheets of plastic steel at my local hardware store before I retire. From Alum wins national invention competition with “plastic steel” and UM Engineering.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/25/2008)
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 ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Material ")
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.' - Samuel R. Delany
Nano-Chainmail 2D Mechanically Interlocked Polymer
'Nemourlon armor of reasonable weight resists penetration by most fragments and any bullet that is not both reasonably heavy and fairly high-velocity.' - Jerry Pournelle, 1976.
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.'
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
Robotic Barber Programmed With a Number of Styles
'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
Centipede Robots Down On The Farm
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
Anthropic's Claude AI Creates Legal Citation From Whole Cloth
'Here is a Clerk that would work incessantly, and neither eat, sleep, want payment, or grumble.'
Students Vie For Lunar Regolith Mining Robot Prize
'About time you got here,' the astronaut said.
'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande
'...using a neutralizing electronic impulse.'
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?'
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
DARPA Wants 'Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
