A conductive material grown from hollow carbon tubes at the micro and nano scale which can support 40,000 times its own weight has been discovered by Professor Karl Schulte and Professor Matthew Mecklenburg at the Universities of Kiel and Hamburg, reports Advanced Materials.
The researchers call it the world's lightest material at 0.2 milligrams per cubic centimetre.
The material can be compressed to one thousandth of its original size and it will spring back into shape.
The research team were looking to find 3D cross-linked carbon structures when they discovered the material which they call aerographite.
It is 99.9% air.
A proposed application is lightweight batteries.
Source:
http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2012/07/16/54129/lightest-material-in-the-world-discovered.htm
