Bucky paper- material of the future by Silvia Szarkova

It is true! Scientists achieved a big mile that can help towards the future! It is called bucky paper and it looks like an ordinary carbon paper, just like a sheet from tree, but in fact, it could be called a new wonder. Bucky paper can change the way every product is done, from cars, through screens to planes.

Bucky paper is 10 times lighter than steel, but amazingly 500 times stronger, when it is stacked together and pressed to a component. In addition, it disperses heat like steel and conducts electricity like cooper or even silicon, so it has completely different features to other components, but from its designing, there are big plans with it.

Big hopes have been put into the nanotechnology, but this invention could revolutionize the future production. Bucky paper is a one of the derivates of ultra-tiny cylinders known as carbon nanotubes. The idea of practical use of this technology has been here for few years, but just now can turn to a reality. Researchers at Florida State University say they have made an important progress.

This derivate is made of tube-shaped carbon molecules that are 50,000 times thinner than a human hair. It could eventually be used as a new material for light, energy-saving aircrafts and automobiles, for stronger computers, improved TV screens and other kind of screens and when commercialized also to many other products.

"If this thing goes into production, this very well could be a very, very game-changing or revolutionary technology to the aerospace business," said Les Kramer, chief technologist for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, which is helping the Florida State research.

According to Ben Wang, director of Florida State´s High- Performance Materials Institute, the strenght of this material is in the huge surface of each nanotube. He says: "Our plan is perhaps in the next 12 months we'll begin maybe to have some commercial products. Nanotubes obviously are no longer just lab wonders. They have real world potential. It's real."


related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081018/ap_on_hi_te/tec_buckypaper;_ylt=AkFjRvYUMOXWjH76BbZ1Aj2s0NUE

by Silvia Szarkova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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edited by Beata Biskova