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A New Age of Materials Is Dawning, for Everything from Smartphones to Missiles
- evolve2k 2y agoTo write this whole article and not even mention circular production practices (eg full lifestyle resource management) and our resource constrained planetary context seems arrogant and stupid and undermines any heady excitement for this “progression”. What a junk article.
- griftrejection 2y ago[dead]
- hoppyhoppy2 2y agohttps://archive.ph/caK9m https://archive.ph/caK9m
- ranger_danger 2y agomitmflared
- LargoLasskhyfv 2y agoflared yourself. just use another DNS. edit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38373137 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38373137 root cause: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=cloudflare+archive https://hn.algolia.com/?q=cloudflare+archive
- ranger_danger 2y agoI don't use anyone's DNS. I just think it's ridiculous for an archive to be behind crimeflare's MITM-as-a-service.
- LargoLasskhyfv 2y agoThen it would be interesting to see if these specific problems still persist if would use another DNS. Since they are typical for using cf. Maybe your upstream does, without you having noticed so far?
- loa_in_ 2y agoI would like to know how do you not use anyone's DNS.
- eropple 2y agoInteresting article, if on the advertising side of things. I've done some hobby work with some basic composites and they're really neat to play with. Even so, I itch at the idea of bolts made out of composites; there are plastics and resins that don't creep under some conditions, but I wonder if the space magic they're describing actually...works.
- throwup238 2y ago> While composites might seem like a futuristic technology, in many ways, they hark back to millions of years of human and even pre-human material technology. Wood, after all, is the original composite material, as it’s composed of long and short fibers glued together by other substances—much like modern synthetic composites are often made up of carbon fiber held together by epoxy resins. Wood was a chief enabler of the success of our species, and it exhibits many of the advantages and disadvantages of composites. Not to nitpick too much, but while wood is "technically" a composite material made up of fiber embedded in lignin, I don't think it's very useful to include it under the broad category of composite materials. Engineered woods like plywood and cross-laminated timber definitely are, but it's more useful to classify regular wood as an organic raw material rather than a composite. The first composite material humans had any experience with was probably silcrete. It's naturally occurring but ancient humans figured out how to strengthen it by heat treating it in a fire (80-160 kYa). The first time humans intentionally made a composite material is adobe/mudbrick (11 kYa), wattle and daub (6 kYa), plywood in Mesopotamia (5.4 kYa), cob (4 kYa), and finally Romans developed something resembling concrete (I dont remember kYa).
- slabity 2y ago> Not to nitpick too much, but while wood is "technically" a composite material made up of fiber embedded in lignin, I don't think it's very useful to include it under the broad category of composite materials. Engineered woods like plywood and cross-laminated timber definitely are, but it's more useful to classify regular wood as an organic raw material rather than a composite. Why would defining it as a raw material be "more useful"? Why is defining it as a composite "less useful"?
- jessriedel 2y agoYea from a material science perspective, wood seems to obviously be a composite.
- aranchelk 2y agoNot just that. When learning about the anisotropic nature of composites (different strengths in different directions) wood is a tangible example for anyone who’s done arts and crafts, woodworking, etc.
- throwaway920102 2y agoNot a single mention in the article of their biggest downside, environmental costs.
- karmakurtisaani 2y agoI would have been interested in the recycling aspect of these materials. We already struggle with plastic and PFAS, should this not be discussed before there's another problem?
- ninininino 2y agoThe same demons who create those materials are responsible for composites.
- __MatrixMan__ 2y agoThere are many ways to be environmentally costly... Can you be more specific?
- ninininino 2y agoThe resins used in carbon fiber for example do not biodegrade. New studies are coming out everyday demonstrating that microplastics and nanoplastics of synthetic materials interfere with the Earth's biosphere, in all sorts of ways. DNA transcription errors, hormonal disruption, increase in arterial plaque and heart attack/stroke, etc. Considering the article is largely about composite materials formed using resins, it stands out that no mention is made of synthetic, plastic resins vs the potential for biodegradable, non-accumulating resins. For carbon fiber, a quick google reveals that polyacrylonitrile is the most widely used resin. According to google it is not readily biodegradable: https://www.igtpan.com/Ingles/reciclagem_poliacrilonitrila.asp#:~:text=Polyacrylonitrile%2C%20like%20all%20plastics%20or,in%20the%20soil%20and%20landfills https://www.igtpan.com/Ingles/reciclagem_poliacrilonitrila.a....
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- 1024core 2y ago> All of that is possible because composites, while they have their challenges, are often able to perform just as well as high-strength metal parts, but with a fraction of the weight. That's what Rush (who perished in the Titan submersible) also thought....
- hn_throwaway_99 2y agoHence the inclusion of the word "often" in the original sentence. There are many different types of strength - just from the get-go using carbon fiber in a sub is insane because (even ignoring the interface problem with different materials) carbon fiber is known for its strength in tension, not so much its strength in compression.
- shiroiushi 2y agoThe problem here is that the OP's statement is correct, if you qualify it more: if the composite material is appropriate for the application, and properly designed for it, it can perform just as well. If the composite material is a stupid choice for the application for various reasons, and being touted by a guy who thinks safety standards are dumb, then you get OceanGate. Still, you have a good point: in engineering (and especially safety-critical projects), you can't just throw some composite material in there willy-nilly and expect it to work out great. OceanGate was a great example of some really stupid and reckless engineering.
- talldayo 2y agoTo give the steel industry it's fair shake, the Titanic was also claimed to be "unsinkable".
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- ghaff 2y agoAs a hiker/outdoors person, materials evolution has been a fantastic improvement in so many ways. Even lightweight traveling.
- hoseja 2y agoI'm sure we'll be so excited to eventually find out what exactly all that teflon in goretex does to our healthy outdoorsy bodies.
- dyauspitr 2y agoYep, you can now go camping with your gear being under 10 lbs. Your tent and sleeping bag together can be under 3lbs.
- solardev 2y agoProbably not great for the environment though, with plastic microfibers washing into our oceans and DWR coatings being toxic and leaching into waterways. Compared to, say, what they climbed Everest with originally, yeah, our gear today is lighter, cheaper, more effective, but also more environmentally impactful and much less degradable. It's all just byproducts of the oil industry. We're a lot more comfortable now, but it didn't come free.
- cinntaile 2y agoMost of the new gear also doesn't last nearly as long.
- ghaff 2y agoThere's certainly a tradeoff in some cases. I've had things break/wear out in ways that wouldn't have happened with heavier/thicker gear in years past. Also, much as I love merino wool, it wears out/gets eaten by moths in ways that wouldn't have been nearly the issue with synthetics in years past.
- fragmede 2y agoIt's cheaper and doesn't last as long, but wouldn't that translate into being more degradable, not less? There are fewer atoms there, and the whole microplastics problem is it losing atoms.
- inasio 2y agoIt's been amazing to see how it's affected sailing and other water sports over the past 2-3 of decades. Cuben fiber sails, Carbon-fiber hulls, hydrofoils on everything; something happened and then inflatable paddle boards were everywhere.
- aranchelk 2y agoNitpick time: > Modern composites, starting with Bakelite AFAIK Bakelite is a resin, not a composite. No mention of fiberglass, which had been used for many decades before carbon fiber went into widespread use. > composites—which are amalgamations of a variety of fibers, embedded in a variety of plastics Steel reinforced concrete is a composite and doesn’t fit this definition.
- nyanpasu64 2y agoI looked it up on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite) which said: > Because molded Bakelite incorporated fillers to give it strength, it tended to be made in concealing dark colors.[9]
- fuzztester 2y agoIn older style corded land line phones, the body was made of black bakelite, in India.
- bboygravity 2y agoSame in Europe. In Cuba they where solid gold (joke reference to Scarface movie).
- tlb 2y agoMost Bakelite products were a molded combination of resin and sawdust. Though there were also pure resin products.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- hyperbolablabla 2y agoAlso swear Bakelite is older than my grandpa, not sure it's exactly "modern"
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- joshu 2y agoi met orbital composites at reindustrialize. they seemed to know their shit; i was very impressed.
- Anotheroneagain 2y agoWere the soviets that far ahead? Because the T3 trams from the 60s were already made of composites.
- jillesvangurp 2y agoParts of the DDR era Trabant cars were also made out of composites.
- imp0cat 2y agoPapier-mache, to be exact. ;)
- torginus 2y agoAfaik it wasn't paper mache, it was made of cotton fiber and used some kind of resin as a binding agent. Paper uses wood pulp.
- imp0cat 2y agoWell, to be precise, it was a resin + cotton + wood pulp mixture. Also, totally un-recyclable. Good riddance!
- lazide 2y agoWood pulp and cotton fiber aren’t that different, are they?
- torginus 2y agoThey are? Generally fiber length determines how tough a given composite will be. There's a reason why clothes are made out of cotton fiber not wood.
- lazide 2y agoClothes are often made of (treated) wood fiber - it is what rayon/viscose is. [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayon] Clothes made of ‘bamboo fiber’ are made of rayon, for example. Cotton is also normally mercerized [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercerisation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercerisation], or treated like Denim, etc. It’s all made of cellulose at the end of the day.
- kart23 2y agoWhy aren't more regular cars made of carbon fiber? Especially with EVs needing to be as efficient as possible. The BMW i3 had a carbon fiber frame and was still reasonably priced back in 2013, yet no other normal cars seem to have went this way.
- floxy 2y agoHere's to hoping that Aptera becomes a regular car someday. https://aptera.us/cpc-group-agreement/ https://aptera.us/cpc-group-agreement/
- daviddumenil 2y agoIn the case of the BMW i3, European legislation was introduced that made manufacturers accountable for the recyclability of their cars. Something the article completely sidesteps when talking about metals versus composites :-) Cost versus steel may well have been a factor as well.
- fkarg 2y agofrom what I understand it's because it's a lot more expensive than its alternatives. Like yes, for a bunch of structures you can neatly automate it (see most rocket production), but the shapes of (current) cars don't easily offer themselves to similar options. Automation is possible but would probably be finicky and require a lot of space and energy (for the heating). but someone else please jump in if you know better/more.
- tpm 2y agoBecause it doesn't make a lot of sense to invest heavily into saving 100kg on the frame and then adding a 500kg battery. The i3 had a small, lighter battery and an extender.
- janalsncm 2y agoIf your frame is 100kg lighter doesn’t that mean you can get even better mileage out of your battery? Or, for the same weight, fit even more battery?
- maxglute 2y agoOne of my biggest everyday QoL upgrade is men's casual pants finally getting elastane. E: not just elastane but performance fabrics from athleisure in general, good moisture/odour/temperature control, easy to maintain etc. Some people like break in into their cotton/denim classics, but performance fabrics tend to not need break in in at all.
- TacticalCoder 2y ago> One of my biggest everyday QoL upgrade is men's casual pants finally getting elastane. I don't know if it's elastane but I've definitely seen QoL improvements in clothing compared to 35 years ago (back when I was a teenagers). Underwear are soooo soft. And they fit perfectly. Same for t-shirts. Same for socks. I don't know what makes some clothes so comfy (and requiring no ironing either btw) but there's "something" that makes lots of clothes simply better nowadays. And they last too: I'm the kind of person who hates shopping (which drives my wife mad) so when I find something I like, I'll buy three or five of them (which drives my wife even madder). I've got some pieces I have since years and years (that one is nearly divorce reason ;) Sometimes I find a five years old picture and think: "Oh I already had that thing back then!?". Yeah, many clothes are just simply better now.
- nojvek 2y agoI'm with you. All my socks are the same brand, same color. No pair matching needed. They are all the same. That and having breakfast. It's the same almost everyday - unflavored whey + frozen fruits protein shake. Brain cycles saved by not having to think.
- weightedreply 2y agoI'm glad there's more choice but I wish my favorite Levi's still had a 100% cotton option. After years of easy jean shopping I now have to find another brand.
- nanomonkey 2y agoweargustin.com has great selvedge jeans...a little pricey for the uniquely dyed options, but for the regular jeans they aren't bad, and they last forever.
- kazinator 2y ago> lighter, stronger composites Next-to-fucking-impossible-to-recycle composites.
- banish-m4 2y agoSo there are modern efforts to replace LP compressor blades of LM1500's (industrial conversions of J79's) to save weight and improve efficiency. Carbon fiber blades weigh a fraction of what metal ones do. Also, with computational fluid dynamics, new blade designs can be evolved and optimized for a specific power-band. For static applications, the risks of using more delicate materials can be tolerable if the efficiency in ROI exceeds service costs. There's a YT channel in Canada covering this development.
- pjc50 2y agoIt's always fun to read an article like this, spot the "this is a press release" tone, and then spot which company had it placed in the WSJ. Along with a quote from the CEO. It's basically free advertising.
- signatoremo 2y agoWhich company? There are mentions of at least 3 companies, with at least 2 CEOs quoted
- cal85 2y agoAre you going to tell us who?
- andrewtbham 2y agoProbably Orbital composites. The image at the top is from them. https://www.orbitalcomposites.com/ https://www.orbitalcomposites.com/
- frithsun 2y agoA swing and a miss. The future of materials is going back to plant fiber; wood, hemp, etc. There will be plenty of fancy composite materials for specialty applications; but our world has been made out of plastic for generations now and updated, improved plant fiber materials will replace it as the affordable, more sustainable, and equally functional alternative.
- lukan 2y ago"There will be plenty of fancy composite materials for specialty applications" There are a lot of "specialty applications" I think, where plant based material is not ideal. Otherwise I agree.
- AYBABTME 2y agoWhy? Can you name a few example current alternatives and upcoming contenders? Are we talking far-tech where plants and other biome actors are engineered to produce materials in a particular shape and manner?
- calgoo 2y agoBamboo is one material that has seen some traction in replacing plastic, especially in kid food items etc. however they do break easier. Hemp is also finally starting to have a real comeback but still has a lot of roadblocks ahead because of almost a decade of “bad press”.
- simmo9000 2y agoIt is a financial question... Which product makes most profit, in whole? Whole includes, in part, "The Commons".
- dzhiurgis 2y agoWhen?
- fifteen1506 2y ago[paywall]
- hoppyhoppy2 2y agoA link to get around the paywall had already been posted.