Boeing has released a new video that reveals that the company has invented a metal which is “99.99 percent air” and can be used in future airplanes, cars and other objects.
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The microlattice is a “3D open-cellular polymer structure” and is made up of interconnecting hollow tubes, each one measuring 1000 times thinner than a human hair.
It’s also worth noting that HRL is jointly owned by General Motors, so it’s likely scientists are also considering ways to use microlattice for vehicle parts. The initial prototypes for the microlattice were made from a nickel-phosphorus alloy.
A few years ago, researchers created the world’s lightest metal for Boeing, and now the airline has shown it off for the first time in this new video.
“By changing the structure at these levels you get completely different properties from the bulk material, which is a very powerful concept”, said Schaedler. But whereas the structure of aerogel is mostly chaotic, microlattice has an orderly lattice structure which makes it a lot stiffer and stronger.
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Sophia Yang, Research Scientist – Architected Materials at HRL Laboratories, said a major application being examined is in aerospace structural components, mentioning sidewall panels, stow bins and floor panels. Because of this, bones aren’t easily crushed but are lightweight, she said. The strength and lightweight nature of the material will allow aircraft to be far more fuel efficient by saving so much weight. What we can do is design the microlattice to absorb the force that the egg feels. By comparison, you’d need to wrap an egg in around a metre (or just over three feet) of bubble wrap to keep it safe when dropped the same distance.
