The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, better known as MIT, does not seem to be satisfied with the current benefits of materials that are currently available to them, such as carbon fiber. Carbon fiber has fast been becoming the new ‘it’ material for companies looking to create imaginative and innovative products which will truly grab their customers’ attention. However, MIT, for some years now, have been attempting to shrink carbon fiber and other various materials.
Michael Demkowicz, an assistant professor at MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering is leading a team of scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to uncover new nanoscale composite materials that are able to withstand high temperatures, mechanical strain and radiation. Demkowicz and his team are using materials such as carbon fiber or fiberglass and breaking these materials down to a nanoscale size. Any material which has been scaled down to such a miniature size will begin to demonstrate unusual properties which were not present when the material was at its original state.
The team at Los Alamos is confident that the new materials will have infinite possibilities including in areas such as nuclear power, fuel cells, and improvements in solar energy. “All sectors of energy production need materials that can withstand extreme conditions,” says Demkowicz. No one knows when a new material with desirable properties will be discovered, so Demkowicz and his team are finding new uses for the materials which are already available.