Buckpaper could replace steel

Scientists at Florida State University are dreaming up exciting uses for buckypaper, a material that is 10 times lighter than steel but potentially 500 times stronger when sheets are pressed together to form a composite. 

The material is made of carbon nanotubes that have been disbursed in a liquid suspension and filtered through fine mesh to make a thin film.  Its building blocks were first discovered in 1985 (winning those researchers the Nobel Prize), but scientists have recently made great strides improving the material's strength. Consumer applications will appear very soon, possibly within a year. 

Buckypaper, which excels are conducting electricity and dispersing heat, may soon be used in electromagnetic shielding and lightning-strike protection on aircraft, electrodes for fuel cells, super capacitors, batteries and a more efficient replacement for graphite sheets to dissipate heat in laptops. 

In the future, the material’s greatest potential could be in building light-weight, energy-efficient planes and cars, as well as military armor and stealth technology. 

Via Wired