一種還在實驗室里的、無比堅硬的物質

Scientists have found a new way to structure carbon at the nanoscale, making a material that's superior to diamond on the strength-to-density ratio.

科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種新的方法構造納米級碳，做出了一種在強度密度比上優(yōu)于鉆石的物質。

While the tiny carbon lattice has been fabricated and tested in the lab, it's a very long way off practical use. But this new approach could help us build stronger and lighter materials in the future - which is something that's of great interest to industries such as aerospace and aviation.

雖然做出了這種微碳晶格，在實驗室中進行了測試，但還不能用于實際應用。但這種新的方法能幫我們在未來構造出更堅固更輕的物質，航空航天等行業(yè)對此會非常感興趣。

 

 

What we're talking about here is something known as a nanolattices - porous structures like the one in the image above that's made up of three-dimensional carbon struts and braces. Due to their unique structure, they're incredibly strong and lightweight.

我們討論的是納米晶格，這種多孔結構如上圖所示，是由三維碳素支柱和支撐構成的。由于其結構獨特，所以異常堅固輕便。

Usually these nanolattices are based around a cylindrical framework (they're called beam-nanolattices). But the team has now created plate-nanolattices, structures based around tiny plates.

通常這種納米晶格是以圓柱形框架為基礎的(我們稱之為束納米晶格)。但這個團隊現(xiàn)在創(chuàng)造出了平板納米晶格，是基于微型平板的結構。

This subtle shift may not sound like much, but the researchers say it can make a big difference when it comes to strength.

這種微妙的變化可能聽起來沒什么，但研究人員說這對強度有很大影響。

Based on early experiments and calculations, the plate approach promises a 639 percent increase in strength and a 522 percent increase in rigidity over the beam nanolattice approach.

基于早期的實驗和計算，這種平板結構與束納米晶格相比，強度會提高639%，硬度會提高522%。

"Scientists have predicted that nanolattices arranged in a plate-based design would be incredibly strong," says materials scientist Cameron Crook, from the University of California, Irvine (UCI).

加利福尼亞大學爾灣分校材料科學家Cameron Crook說：“科學家預測平板設計的納米晶格會異常堅固。”

"But the difficulty in manufacturing structures this way meant that the theory was never proven, until we succeeded in doing it."

“但以這種方式制造結構的困難程度說明這一理論從未被證實過，我們得成功做出來才行。”