/ News
Lightweight metal composite floats on water
In a development that could mean big things in the automotive and marine industries, researchers from Deep Springs Technology (DST) and the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering have created a new metal matrix composite that is so light it can float on water.
The magnesium alloy matrix composite is what is known as a syntactic foam: a type of composite material created by filling a metal, polymer or ceramic matrix with hollow particles. In this case, a magnesium alloy matrix is reinforced with hollow particles of silicon carbide, resulting in what the researchers claim is the world's first lightweight metal matrix syntactic foam.
This structure helps give the material a density of 0.92 grams per cubic centimeter, which is less than the 1 g/cc density of water, thereby giving it the ability to float on water and potentially be used in the construction of marine vessels that stay afloat even after experiencing damage to their structure. Furthermore, the researchers say it is also strong enough to withstand rigorous marine conditions.
Additionally, the material also boasts heat resistance properties that would make it a viable alternative to the lightweight polymer matrix composites that have been the focus of much research and development for use in both marine vessels and automobile components as a replacement for heavier metal-based components.
"This new development of very light metal matrix composites can swing the pendulum back in favor of metallic materials," says Nikhil Gupta, an NYU School of Engineering professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the study’s co-author. "The ability of metals to withstand higher temperatures can be a huge advantage for these composites in engine and exhaust components, quite apart from structural parts."
The material starts out as a matrix made of magnesium alloy, which is turned into a foam through the addition of silicon carbide hollow spheres developed by DST. These lightweight spheres are extremely strong, with the shell of a single sphere able to withstand over 25,000 PSI of pressure before rupturing. As well as adding strength, the spheres also offer impact protection by acting like an energy absorber.
Modifying the amount of spheres that are added to the matrix allows the composite's density and other properties to be customized to suit different applications. Just a few potential applications "floated" by the researchers include boat flooring, automobile components, buoyancy modules and vehicle armor. This last example may be related to the fact that the US Army Research Laboratory collaborated on the research.
The team says the material could be in prototypes for testing within three years.
The team's study appears in the International Journal of Impact Engineering.
Source: http://www.gizmag.com/new-metal-composite-light-float-on-water/37522/
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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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