新奇事件簿 科學家發(fā)明世界上最輕的材料

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Scientists have invented the world’s lightest material. It is so light that it can rest on top of a dandelion. Researchers from the University of California, the California Institute of Technology, and HRL Laboratories created the material they call ''ultralight metallic microlattice'' (UMM). It is 100 times lighter than styrofoam – the material commonly used in packaging goods – and 10,000 times lighter than ultralight aerogels and carbon foams (also used for packing). Lead researcher Tobias Shandler of HRL explained why the material is so light. He said: “The trick is to fabricate a lattice of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness 1,000 times thinner than a human hair.'' It is so hollow that it is 99 per cent air.

科學家發(fā)明了世界上最輕的材料。這種材料非常輕，可以停留在蒲公英上。來自加利福尼亞大學，加州科技研究所和休斯研究實驗室(HRL)的研究人員創(chuàng)造了這種材料，命名為“超輕金屬微格”（UMM）。這種材料比普遍用于包裝貨物的泡沫聚苯乙烯輕100倍，比超輕氣凝膠和泡沫炭輕1萬倍。來自HRL的首席研究員Tobias Shandler解釋了這種材料如此輕的原因。他說：“其中的技巧就是把一些互相連接的空心管編織成比頭發(fā)薄1000倍的壁壘。其空心程度非常高，其中99%都是空氣。”

The new material has been made largely of the metal nickel, but Bill Carter, a manager at HRL, said it could be made out of other materials. He said UMM is so light that: “It takes more than 10 seconds…for the lightest material we've made to fall if you drop it from shoulder height.'' The developers believe there are dozens of uses for UMM and that it will be in many everyday objects within the next decade. Computer experts say UMM will help create lighter and faster computers. Another use is impact protection - researchers say that when it is squashed to half its height, the material almost rebounds back to its original form. Other uses include sound dampening and thermal insulation.

這種新材料大部分是由金屬鎳制成的，但是HRL經(jīng)理Bill Carter表示也可以用其他材料制作。他表示，UMM非常輕，“我們制作的這種最輕的材料從肩膀的高度落地需要超過10秒鐘的時間。”開發(fā)人員相信UMM有幾十種用途，未來十年許多日常物品會用到這種材料。計算機專家表示，UMM可以制造出更輕便更快速的計算機。另外一種用途是沖擊保護——研究人員表示，這種材料被擠壓到一半的高度時，還可以恢復最初的形狀。其他用途包括隔音和絕熱。