Basil Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 When working up a high-science scenario, one thing to keep in mind is the materials stuff can be made out of. One place to look for does-weird materials is at the edge of Real World® materials science. I suspect most of you have heard of "buckyballs," a.k.a. "fullerene." But have you heard of non-spherical buckyballs? Yes, they do exist: http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7891 For more technical details, go to http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jacsat/2006/128/i35/abs/ja063636k.html for a short abstract. The links to the full text (at the bottom) require signing up to get to.** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material The only mention I've heard of fullerene material in an SF setting was the hull of the Andromeda. Most shows tend to go with either fantasy materials or fantasy energy fields that reinforce normal materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolgroth Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Okay, I admit it, I'm an idiot. What does this mean to the non-chemistry major layman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Desmarais Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Okay' date=' I admit it, I'm an idiot. What does this mean to the non-chemistry major layman?[/quote'] Fullerenes are a family of carbon allotropes named after Buckminster Fuller. They are molecules composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube. So far, the tube variant seems the most useful as carbon nanotubes are one of the strongest materials known to humans, both in terms of tensile strength and elastic modulus. Some applications of carbon nanotubes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube#Applications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolgroth Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Thanks for the info. I swear this discussion board is going to turn me into a science geek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted October 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material OTOH, nobody yet is quite sh\ure what egg-shaped buckyballs "mean" --- that is, what they're good for. So a GM has a wide-open field to play with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted October 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Fullerenes are a family of carbon allotropes named after Buckminster Fuller. They are molecules composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube. So far, the tube variant seems the most useful as carbon nanotubes are one of the strongest materials known to humans, both in terms of tensile strength and elastic modulus. Some applications of carbon nanotubes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube#Applications Thanks for covering for me. Repped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Egg-shaped, to me - means compressability and possible fluid (hydraulic) uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material What are the lubrication characteristics of buckyballs? Graphite is already an excellent lubricant; it seems as though buckyballs could potentially act as nano-bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Desmarais Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Another application - too cool. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckypaper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Desmarais Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material What are the lubrication characteristics of buckyballs? Graphite is already an excellent lubricant; it seems as though buckyballs could potentially act as nano-bearings. http://www.tu-berlin.de/fb11/wzm/_engl/Forschung/Tribologie/tribo_fullerene_e.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Another application - too cool. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckypaper Reminds me of the superconductive wire in Ringworld - which was used as a heat conductor to dump the sun-damage affects of "sunflowers" into a nearby lake by the main character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Reminds me of the superconductive wire in Ringworld - which was used as a heat conductor to dump the sun-damage affects of "sunflowers" into a nearby lake by the main character. Hey, good example. Repped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Although I can't see the logic that a superconductor - which is specific to the movement of electrons - also equates to the transfer of heat - which is the vibration of molecules. I'm not sure it's very logical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material http://www.tu-berlin.de/fb11/wzm/_engl/Forschung/Tribologie/tribo_fullerene_e.html Rept. Bring on the Fullerene Astro-Glide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Although I can't see the logic that a superconductor - which is specific to the movement of electrons - also equates to the transfer of heat - which is the vibration of molecules. I'm not sure it's very logical. All known (electrically) superconducting materials are always at the same temperature thoughout. I don't know why, I'm not sure the effects are connected, but that's how it is. So Niven's speculation is dead on. Unless the effects are connected, in which case it's Niven's knowledge, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenLagoon Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Egg-shaped' date=' to me - means compressability and possible fluid (hydraulic) uses.[/quote'] I could see this as a potentially valuable projectile weapon, quite tough and potentially flexible..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material I could see this as a potentially valuable projectile weapon' date=' quite tough and potentially flexible.....[/quote'] I don't know if it is feasible - with an Ion gun, where molecules are the projectiles (just like Ion engines) - the molecule must be able to hold a charge in order to be magnetically accellerated. These are carbon molecules - I don't know how well it would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakboy6117 Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material you could put a gold ion inside the egg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Meh. I've never though "Ion" this or that were any good as weapons or drives. Give me fusion torches for both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deucex Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material I saw a documentary about camoflage where they talked about bright light as camoflage. they put a vehicle on the crest of a hill and strapped a whole bunch of flood lights to it. The light from the floods blended with the daytime sky behind it. "If exposed to an electric charge, buckypaper could be used to illuminate computer and television screens. It would be more energy-efficient, lighter, and would allow for a more uniform level of brightness than current cathode ray tube (CRT) and liquid crystal display (LCD) technology." ...active camoflage and invisible aircraft. Ray Baughman's group from the NanoTech Institute at University of Texas at Dallas produced the current toughest material known in mid-2003 by spinning fibers of single wall carbon nanotubes with polyvinyl alcohol. Beating the previous contender, spider silk, by a factor of four, the fibers require 600 J/g to break[37] In comparison, the bullet-resistant fiber Kevlar is 27–33 J/g. In mid-2005 Baughman and co-workers from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization developed a method for producing transparent carbon nanotube sheets 1/1000th the thickness of a human hair capable of supporting 50,000 times their own mass. In August 2005, Ray Baughman's team managed to develop a fast method to manufacture up to seven meters per minute of nanotube tape.[38] Once washed with ethanol, the ribbon is only 50 nanometers thick; a square kilometer of the material would only weigh 30 kilograms. I live just up the street from UTD were they are doing this stuff. I think I may go make myself an active camoflage suit. great for paintball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austenandrews Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material I live just up the street from UTD were they are doing this stuff. I think I may go make myself an active camoflage suit. great for paintball. In the early 90's I was poking around UT's research center when I came across a door marked "Nanotechnology." Behind it was a room apparently empty, but for a single chair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deucex Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material In the early 90's I was poking around UT's research center when I came across a door marked "Nanotechnology." Behind it was a room apparently empty' date=' but for a single chair.[/quote'] DFW wierdness is par for the course. I worked nights down the hall from a place called "DNA Research" the door had a wierd green glow coming out from under it. A favorite description of the evil research lab in games for years to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material if a bucky-egg is possible is a bucky-football far behind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theltemes Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Re: Another advanced and weird material Meh. I've never though "Ion" this or that were any good as weapons or drives. Give me fusion torches for both Preach it, Curufea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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