MIT chemical engineers have created a new “impossible” material that is stronger than steel and as light as plastic, and can be easily manufactured in large quantities, thanks to a new novel polymerization process. Unlike other polymers that form one-dimensional, spaghetti-like chains, this new material is essentially a two-dimensional polymer capable of being self-assembled into sheets. Read more for the full image and additional information.
Photo credit: Christine Daniloff, MIT
Practical applications include being used as coating for car parts or smartphones and building material for bridges as well as other structures. What’s really surprising is just how much force it takes to deform this material, which has been discovered to be up to 6-times greater than bulletproof glass. It also has twice the yield strength – how much force it takes to break the material – is twice that of steel, despite having a density about one-sixth of steel.
LEGO Ideas Home Alone 21330 Building Kit; Buildable Movie Memorabilia; Delightful Gift Idea for Millennials (3,957 Pieces)
- Celebrate a family-favorite Christmas comedy movie with this LEGO Ideas Home Alone set (21330), featuring buildable models of the McCallisters’ house, tree house and crooks’ van for play and display
- This brick-built movie memorabilia set makes a cool holiday gift for millennial Home Alone fans. It includes 5 LEGO minifigures: Kevin McCallister, Kate McCallister, Harry, Marv and ‘Old Man’ Marley
- The house’s walls and roof open up for easy access and it has many fun functions includingswinging paint cans, a basement furnace that lights up and a lever to push Kevin down the stairs on his sled
- Discover details that spark memories of hilarious movie moments in every room in the house and inside the van (not forgetting the zip line for Kevin to escape to the tree house!)
- Building this set is a fun holiday activity for the family, and the house, which measures over 10.5 in. (27 cm) high, 13 in. (34 cm) wide and 14.5 in. (37cm) deep, makes a super festive centerpiece
We don’t usually think of plastics as being something that you could use to support a building, but with this material, you can enable new things. It has very unusual properties and we’re very excited about that,” said Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and the senior author of the new study.
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