How powerful is carbon fiber?

The humble carbon fiber is a "dark horse" in the world of new materials.

A high-performance carbon fiber with only 1/10 thick hair filaments, the tensile strength can reach 7-9 times that of steel, and the specific gravity is only 1/4 of steel. At a high temperature of several thousand degrees, other fibers have turned Ashes, but carbon fiber has not changed.

(Comparison of carbon fiber and hair)

The origin of the concept of carbon fiber dates back to the 19th century.

The British Swann was the first to use carbon filament to make the filament of an electric light bulb. Later Edison made a practical incandescent carbon filament. However, because of the method of drawing tungsten filament invented by Culich in 1910, the filament was completely changed to tungsten filament. Carbon fiber research has been beaten.

（Swan's and Maxim's bulbs）

Carbon fiber is once again on the stage of history!

After the 1950s, in order to solve the problems of high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance of missile nozzles and warheads, the United States developed viscose-based carbon fibers. Although it has been developed for a long time, the technology in the civilian field is not yet mature. The manufacturing cost of truly high-strength carbon fiber remains high, which makes it extremely difficult to promote.

Nowadays, the manufacturing cost of carbon fiber is gradually reduced, and efforts are being made to enter the commercial field. In the current F1 (Formula One World Championship) car, most of the body structure is made of carbon fiber materials. A big selling point of top sports cars is also the use of carbon fiber to improve aerodynamics and structural strength.

More Application

Because carbon fiber is extremely high-strength, light-weight, and easy to form a shape, many applications seem quite impressive.

The following all-carbon fiber bike produced by the German Audi company weighs only 12 pounds, which is a little more than 5 kilograms, although the price is 18,500 dollars, which is a pain in the wallet.

（Audi Sport Racing Bike）