Scientists Create World's Lightest Solid

These findings of a team of researchers from University of California, Irvine at HRL labs and California Institute of Technology- will be published in the November 18, 2011 issue of "Science" journal. .

Lightweight materials like foam have always been used in thermal insulation, sound dampening, and also as scaffolding for battery electrodes. Until now the lightest substance having densities of 1milimeter per cubic centimeter were the aero gels or "frozen smoke". The problem with both these materials is the reduced strength due to their random structures.

With the new material(a metallic lattice of hair-thin pipes), scientists have overcome this problem and have given a more regularized structure to the metallic lattices which in turn has rendered them with higher levels of stiffness, strength and conductivity than their original structures.

Lead researcher Tobias Schaedler said that the team has revolutionized these materials by introducing architectural concepts in them. “If you look at the Eiffel Tower or Golden Gate Bridge, they're incredibly light and strong for their size by virtue of their architecture — the Eiffel Tower is taller and lighter than the pyramids because of its design," Schaedler explained. "We want to achieve the same thing these modern buildings achieve by working on the structures of materials."

The process involved shining UV light on a photopolymer molecule that changes structure when exposed to light-the resulting 3D lattice was then coated with nickel-phosphorous alloy. The team will also experiment with creating such lattices of strong materials like diamond, polymers and ceramics.

The aerospace industry could find tremendous use for such materials in structural components.