New 'super-paper' is stronger than cast iron

[Indenturedebtor]

Source: New Scientist

Punching your way out of a paper bag could become a lot harder, thanks to the development of a new kind of paper that is stronger than cast iron.

The new paper could be used to reinforce conventional paper, produce extra-strong sticky tape or help create tough synthetic replacements for biological tissues, says Lars Berglund from the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

Despite its great strength, Berglund's "nanopaper" is produced from a biological material found in conventional paper: cellulose. This long sugar molecule is a principal component of plant cell walls and is the most common organic compound on Earth.

Mechanical testing shows it has a tensile strength of 214 megapascals, making it stronger than cast iron (130 MPa) and almost as strong as structural steel (250 MPa).

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Read more: http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn14084-new-superpaper-is-stronger-than-cast-iron.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=tech1_head_New%20'super-paper'%20is%20stronger%20than%20cast%20iron

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WOW! I don't know about you guys but I'm extremely excited about some of the developments in recent years that have the potential to replace environmentally damaging materials suck as metals and plastics with renewable resources like this.

The Woody Station Wagon may make a comeback yet!

:woohoo:

[DainBramaged]

1. Wow. Glad bags could really be glad!

[Indenturedebtor]

2. Well I'm not sure but I think this stuff is pretty inflexible

Probably more suited to making things like sheet "metal" etc. Obviously you'd need a flame and termite retardant though :P

[Speck Tater]

3. Bucky Fuller built a house out of cardboard once.

Super-strong paper could make house like this practical:

http://www.monkeyc.org/dome/index.html
http://www.ozarkdome.com/giftdome.html

[Indenturedebtor]

4. Those are very cool! Thanks!

And why the hell not? Seems to me that it would be EXTREMEY cheap to make! Throw some hemp fibre in between the layers to insulate and you've got yourself a true eco home :D

[Speck Tater]

7. As long as cardboard is being thrown away, nobody needs to be homeless. nt

[Indenturedebtor]

8. No kidding. How about setting aside some vacant city lots for these and veggie gardens

So they can grow their own food and eat? What would be so terrible about that?

[DogPoundPup]

5. We've had a renewable resource available for decads but....

Despite all the environmental advantages of growing hemp the DEA says noooooooo, because the weenies fear legal hemp could lead to legal marijuana. (Oh my God, ya' know, we all could die!!!!!) And they irrationally fear growers could hide pot plants in hemp fields, complicating agents’ efforts to find them. (And that would be catastrophic!!!!)

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Industrial hemp has thousands of uses, including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, health food, and fuel, but it has not been the great commercial success that the enthusiast hoped for. It is one of the fastest growing biomasses on the planet, and one of the earliest domesticated plants known. It also runs parallel with the "Green Future" objectives that are becoming increasingly popular. Hemp requires little to no pesticides, replenishes soil with nutrients and nitrogen, controls erosion of the topsoil, and produces a lot of oxygen, considering how fast it grows. Furthermore, Hemp could be used to replace many potentially harmful products, such as tree paper (the processing of which uses bleaches and other toxic chemicals, and contributes to deforestation), cosmetics (which often contain synthetic oils that can clog pores and provide little nutritional content for the skin), and plastics (which are petroleum based and cannot decompose).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp

[Indenturedebtor]

6. I know the hemp thing is utterly rediculous

If we can pull it off this November you might see a turn around there.

As a start Obama has indicated that he wants to end the Drug War!

That sounds like a start to dismantling the irrational fear they use to keep Hemp out of the marketplace.

[BadgerKid]

10. "Oh my God, ya' know, we all could die!!!!!"

At least we could die happy :D

[DogPoundPup]

13. Die happy or at the least relaxed...

AHH yea, takes me back to the good ol' days ~

[12string]

21. We could all die

The truth be told,none of us gets out of here alive.So,bong away.

[Barrett808]

20. "Will someone please think of the children?"

-- Helen Lovejoy
http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Helen_Lovejoy

[Cronus Protagonist]

9. Strength is not the same as rigidity

Cast iron is brittle, in the grand scheme of things. Although it is rigid. Something that is stronger than iron is not necessarily going to be as rigid or at all suitable as a replacement for iron or steel.

[Indenturedebtor]

14. Hmmm good point! Well how about for bullet proof underwear then? n/t

[Cronus Protagonist]

16. haha, I think you might be onto something there

Maybe Tyvek undies are already available. I'm sure McCain uses something like that to keep his Depends frmo blasting off his asshole every time he farts dynamite.

[Indenturedebtor]

17. LOL no doubt!

Although it's probably more to keep them from melting when he oozes habanero juice... I can't imagine McBoosh summoning the energy for a powerful fart!

[davsand]

24. I have to wonder about that strength when layered with rigid materials.

We talk about "greener" solutions every day, but it seems to me that if you could generate a very strong rigid material that was a lot lighter than steel you might just have the beginnings of a car that gets some decent MPG or goes further on a battery charge.

They have used stuff like fiberglass in racing cars to minimize weight for decades. One negative thing I remember hearing about it, however, is that it is tends to splinter. I'd think that this new paper could be sandwiched or layered with fiberglass and a fairly light yet strong material might be the result.

Something that has always bothered me about our current issue with auto design is the realization that our materials are pretty much the same ones Ford used in the Model T...



Laura

[KSCFAN]

26. Energy Absorbing

One of the problems with using carbon fiber or aluminum for that matter is that they don't absorb energy well in a crash. Steel deforms alot in an accident disapating energy as it does. That doesn't mean you can't make a safe car in materials other then steel it just costs a lot more.

[davsand]

29. I'm no engineer nor am I anybody with much of a clue about materials. You sound like you are.

:hi:

I first got interested in the whole materials issue when I worked in proximity to the Engineering Dept and got to know several of the people there. That same interest grew just a bit more when I got to know a guy who was really into racing. It all makes sense but somebody has to take time to explain it, I think.

We have some absolutely brilliant people in engineering in this country. I have complete faith that those guys can solve this if they have the funding and the opportunity to work on it. Similarly, I always wondered about design that would allow for areas that do compress--kind of a shock absorber sort of thing, I guess...

Regards!


Laura

[uppityperson]

11. Maybe they could use this for ballots, esp for e-machine tabs?

[dipsydoodle]

12. Memories of another day

I got a '34 wagon and I call it a Woody
Surf City here we come
You know its not very cherry, it's an oldie but a goodie
Surf City here we come
Well it ain't got a back seat ot a rear window
But it still gets me where I want to go.

[brooklynite]

15. I'd hate to get a paper cut...

[Indenturedebtor]

18. Heheh reminds me of the paper armor they used in China

http://www.orientaldiscovery.com/view_info.asp?viewid=830

Pretty good at stopping arrows apparently!

[Javaman]

19. Coming to a contract near you. "sure, go ahead and try and tear it up!"nt

[Kip Humphrey]

22. Causing me to rethink the term, "Paper Tiger"!

[debunkthelies]

23. Paper Iron

This sounds so promising. Wow! See what happens when a society uses their brains for creation rather than war.
Awesome!:think:

[ohio2007]

25. New paper? Is it a New York Times spinoff product ?

they gotta make some paper money somehow LOL

[gort]

27. I am still waiting for transparent aluminum

eom

[ohio2007]

28. Wasn't that from Star Trek four ?

The Voyage home where they had to build a tank to bring a whale from earth to the future ?


Out of necessity and against the "prime directive", Scottie showed a manufacturer on earth how to build a new type of aluminum


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlgH7Oec__s
;)

maybe this paper was......

naww LOL

[gort]

30. sshh!

:)