961
Limpet teeth - the most durable material in nature
The secret of spider arachnids glands are no longer considered to be the most durable natural material, although the tensile strength of the web 1, 3 GPa is very impressive (for comparison, the tensile strength of steel is 0, 5 to 3 GPa).
But in the nature of the material found even stronger than the web, steel or graphite whiskers. In the journal Journal of the Royal Society Interface i> published an article "Extreme strength observed in limpet teeth" < / a>, which requires updating the record books.
The researchers measured the tensile strength of the material that makes up teeth морского saucer - water gastropods species Patella vulgata. It was found that depending on the area of the tooth, the tensile strength ranges from 3 to 6, 5 GPa.
In the photo with a scanning electron microscope shows the structure of the teeth limpet. The length of each tooth - about 100 micrometers.
In larger images show that the teeth are composed of a protein matrix interspersed with individual fibers of about 3 micrometers and a thickness of about 20 nanometers. Such a structure can be called a reinforced composite material.
The fibers themselves are composed of goethite , ferrous mineral formula FeO (OH).
Although this material is inferior in strength to some artificial materials such as graphene, but he leaves far behind steel and Kevlar, not to mention all the materials that are found in nature. On the strength of it approximately corresponds to the high-quality carbon fiber.
Researchers suggest that the strength of the material can be used, for example, in dentistry.
Source: geektimes.ru/post/246170/
Game of Drones. As the men were breaking each other quadrocopter
How the brain perceives a random selection of songs