The material is produced in specialised laboratory conditions |
Newly developed aerographite is 99.9% air and
conducts electricity, and researchers hope it can be used to produce
tiny batteries.
Researchers in Germany have created the world's lightest material, with hopes it could revolutionise battery technology.While it is 99.99% air, it conducts electricity, meaning it could eventually be used to create a super-lightweight battery.
The record-breaking material was created by a team of researchers at the Technical University of Hamburg and the University of Kiel.
"We were looking for three-dimensionally cross-linked carbon structures, and we discovered this material," explained team member Karl Schulte.
Last month researchers in Texas unveiled technology for a spray-on battery |
Aerographite is produced in specialised laboratory conditions using a process called chemical vapour deposition.
In 2002 a substance called aerogel was named as the world's lightest solid with a density of one milligram per cubic centimetre. It was used by Nasa to collect dust from comets.
That was overtaken last year by metallic microlattice which weighed-in at 0.9 milligrams per cubic centimetre.
That metallic substance is so lightweight that a block of the material could sit on a dandelion head without squashing it.
Details of the development of aerographite were announced in an academic paper that was published in the journal Advanced Materials.
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