An Elevator to Space

        

 

    Scientists have claimed to have discovered the strongest, stiffest diamond based nanomaterial to date. They plan to utilize it for aerospace manufacturing, transportation and might be bringing back the idea of an elevator to space.
    A team led by chemist John Badding of PSU found that isolated, liquid-state benzene molecules, assemble into very neat, orderly chains when they have endured long, slow alternating cycles of pressure. The thread is less than 3 atoms across and a thousand time thinner than a hair has a zig zagging arrangement of carbon rings in the shape of a triangular pyramid, which is similar to diamonds arrangement. This structure could be the strongest structure known, and they didnt even know it was possible until now!
    The team said their discovery was an accident. A graduate student in Badding's lab wanted to study materials made by benzene when it was isolated, because it goes into some pretty interesting formations when isolated. He added liquid benzene to a machine called a Paris-Edinburgh device and put the molecules into a high pressure cell. When added to a high pressure cell, the liquid coverts to a solid, "essentially freezing". Once frozen, the molecules of benzene arrange into stacked columns. As compression continued, the theory was that the benzene molecules would yield a mess of white powder but contrary to theory, the molecules began to organize even more. The researchers couldn't believe what they were seeing. So much so that they ran x-rays and neutron diffractions and vibrational spectroscopy to confirm that what they were seeing was true. It was, they saw order.
    The theory of this unexpected alignment is the timing of compression. Normally, scientists created benzene materials in small quantities with quick changes of pressure, but this time they gave the benzene time to arrange itself. If that hadn't happened, this would not have been a discovery.
    Before the nanothreads can be used commercially, the scientists want to run tests to understand how the molecules link up, their properties and behavior in many different conditions. but as of now, they look to use them to replace carbon fibers, which are weaker. There is also the problem of mass-production, because the process of making these fibers is so slow and tedious.
Even if we don't end up using these threads to make an elevator to space, this discovery looks promising to become an alternative to fiber filled products we already use, to make them better and a lot more durable.

Article on Scientific American