Smart , Strong Material .

Smart , Strong Material
Andre Willers
21 Dec 2010

Synopsis :
A cheap , smart , strong material can be made by 3D printing process producing threads using Aragonite , clay or a suitable brick-material , mortared by a suitable conducting polymer . Present , mature weaving technology can weave a super-strong material with embedded chips for smartness . (Not to mention TV screens .)

Discussion :
See NewScientist 13 Nov 2010 p46 "Feat of clay"

In the biological clam , the Mother-of-Pearl (Aragonite structure) is achieved by slow growth . It is also stronger than steel . Optical output is random , but appealing .
Similar materials have been made on small scale using clay .

Scaling-up has been hampered by a slow "curing" process , necessitating slow growth .
We are not limited by biological growth . (But keep it small .)

The Process
(My Xmas Gift for 2010 : Free according to all freeware protocols)

A very thin thread looping past an ordinary ink-jet printer with different heads printing Aragonite and a polymer , then through an ageing environment (ie mild heat , acidity , etc ) will build up into a thread of desired thickness .

The thread can then be further treated .
Eg the original starter thread can be dissolved out and replaced by a conducting superglue , giving a really , really tough thread .

The existing , mature weaving technology can then be used to weave any desired material . Eg armor , TV screens , invisibility clothing , temperature suits .

Smart chips can be cheaply implanted at this stage , but a neural-net of some type would be needed for the cheaper materials . Connections between the material and the chips would be rather haphazard and some learning would be required .

Strength :

A preliminary look indicates that cables woven from the threads would have a sufficient strength-to-weight ratio to function as space-elevator cables .

Military armor should outperform present specs by factors of 10-100 .

Even everlasting razorblades or tyres should finally be possible .


A new occupation :
Taking the clothes to school .
Armor will need to be trained .

Expensive materials might try for programmed interactions , but this is not advised for armor . Neural networks are more robust in case of damage .

TV screens:
An optical-conducting thread-core and a meta-material brick opens up some intriguing speculations .

A true invisibility cloak is possible . Smart , too .

Extreme heat-insulation or heat-dissipation become possible .
Note the similarity of thread-structure with polar-bear fur .

LED's in the material can give any camouflage output .

Including your favourite TV program .

This is then a cheap , printable , flexible TV screen .

Inverse camouflage .
Wear your favourite soapie .

How Smart can the Clothes be ?
Given the present rates of progress of processors , a suit of clothes soon might be smarter than the wearer . Something long suspected , in any case .

So what will happen if the owner dies ?
Gives an entirely new meaning to "Second hand clothes"
And what if one of a pair of socks wants a divorce ?

(Note the mystery of the vanishing single socks .
Time-traveling socks looking and finding for adventure and a savage mate ?
Gloves do not bear thinking about .
But only the truly perverted will wonder about crotch-straps . )

All this with an ink-jet printer and some software off the internet .

Ho-Ho-Ho !

Merry Xmas !

Santa Andre