Originally published July 31 2005
New metal mixed with glass is lighter and stronger than conventional metal
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
William Johnson, a professor at the California Institute of Technology, has developed a substance called glassy metal that is half the weight of conventional alloys and twice as strong.
A strong metal need not be a heavy metal, and research pioneered by William Johnson, a professor of materials science at the California Institute of Technology, has proved just that.
His lab in Pasadena has developed a substance called glassy metal-or amorphous metal-that is less than half the weight of conventional alloys and more than twice as strong.
One basic property sets these new materials apart from the average metal alloys: amorphous metals are rapidly cooled and their atoms frozen in place before there is a chance for crystallization to occur.
Because glassy metals do not contain crystals, they are not subject to the denting, corrosion, and tearing problems that result when the crystals that are typical of conventional metals are pushed out of alignment.
Because they are created with such expensive metals as zirconium, titanium, beryllium, nickel and copper, 1 lb (0.45 kg) of the product costs between $10 and $20, as opposed to steel, which typically costs $0.25 per pound, or aluminum, which costs about $1 per pound.
The cost currently "precludes using amorphous metal in larger-scale applications," says Johnson.
If a car is lighter, it will ultimately be cleaner in terms of emissions because it will need less gasoline to run.
Similarly, airplanes using amorphous metal in their structural elements may require significantly less fuel.
"A pound out of the weight of the jet over the lifetime of the aircraft is worth a couple hundred thousand dollars in fuel," says Johnson.
Says Johnson, "This material is particularly amenable to foaming because it's thick and very plastic."
Although foam formed with amorphous metal is predominantly composed of air, it is significantly stronger than polystyrene, he says.
"If you make thick foam panels, you can leverage the stiffness and strength of the panel by making it thicker without making it heavier," he explains.
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