It’s a car, it’s a plane, it’s … paper?
At Florida State University’s High-Performance Materials Institute (HPMI), a revolutionary new material known as buckypaper is being developed in ways that could vastly improve fuel efficiency in automobiles, protect airplanes from lightning strikes, and even lead to the manufacture of "smart" windows and fabrics with computing components and digital sensors embedded in them. Lighter, smaller and energy-stingier innovations such as these add up to a more sustainable future for all of us.
A new animated video produced for HPMI is packed with information about many of the potential applications of buckypaper. It can be viewed below or at this link.
Meanwhile, a second video offers a close-up look at some of the research that is currently taking place at HPMI. View it at the bottom of the page or at this link.
To find out more about buckypaper and the High-Performance Materials Institute, contact Professor Chuck Zhang, HPMI deputy director, at (850) 645-8982 or chzhang@eng.fsu.edu; or operations director Frank Allen at (850) 645-8984 or fallen@fsu.edu.