4 man-made materials make you believe magic is real

By cutting-edge technology, people are creating countless materials with many different features.

Among them, some are so special that if they are brought back to the Middle Ages, make sure they are seen as witchcraft products, or even devilish games of mass destruction.

1. Glass drops - harder than steel

Glass drops.

The image above is a glass droplet - which is made quite simply by melting glass, then dripping it into droplets.

But so what? What makes this material so special is the extremely terrific durability at the top, which can withstand the hammering force that keeps going up continuously without breaking. According to evaluation, its durability is even harder than steel.

The strength of glass drops is even harder than steel.

However, just using the stress on the tail, or the smallest part, the entire drop of glass will explode into small pieces.

This strange material was first discovered in the 17th century in the Netherlands.

This strange material was first discovered in the 17th century in the Netherlands. And its mechanism is explained as follows: When molten glass touches cold water, the outer surface immediately cools and contracts into a solid, but the center remains liquid.

By the time the central part cooled, the outer shell was fixed and unable to contract, resulting in a strong tensile stress inward.

The glass outside was hard, but the inside was still red.

In normal glass, breakage is caused by cracks that appear and spread on the surface. But with glass droplets, the inward stress causes the molecules to squeeze close together, so the cracks cannot spread.

But also because of the accumulation of a large energy source, if any point is broken, the whole structure will explode on the chain. In it, the drop tail area will be the weakest and most fragile place.

The tail area will be the weakest and most fragile place.

Glass drops are a precursor to the creation of today's toughened windshield or windshield glass. The advantage of these types of glass is that it is difficult to break, and when broken, it becomes small particles, less dangerous for users.

2. Vantablack - absolute black

In 2014, British scientists successfully built the darkest material ever known, known as Vantablack (Vanta: Vertically Aligned NanoTube Array, a vertical array of nanotubes).

Vantablack - the world's blackest material.

Due to the construction of a carbon nanotube "stand" standing side by side, the light that shines on vantablack does not reflect but is absorbed, while moving around the tubes. After all, the light will completely turn off the heat.

Vantablack can absorb up to 99.965% of visible light.

Vantablack can absorb up to 99.965% of visible light, this material is so black that you don't visualize its black level through any TV screen, but only from direct observation.

Vantablack has 10 times the hardness of steel.

There are many potential applications for materials, such as those used to prevent light noise in telescopes, improving infrared camera performance.

In addition, vantablack also has 10 times the hardness of steel and the ability to absorb heat of the world's best, can be applied to solar power or thermal camouflage in the military.

3. Super hydrophobic metal

Super hydrophobic is a characteristic of some materials that prevent water from sticking and easily drift off the surface. A typical super hydrophobic material is lotus leaf.

Super-hydrophobic materials are now mainly in the form of coating on the outside for waterproofing materials.

The majority of super hydrophobic materials are now mainly in the form of coating on the outside for waterproofing materials. However, the drawback of paint is that it tends to peel off quickly after use.

The drawback of paint is that it tends to peel off quickly after use.

In 2015, researchers at the University of Roschester (USA) devised a method: using lasers to engrave the surface of different sheet metal according to the structure simulating lotus leaf. Finally, they create perfectly hydrophobic surfaces, not peeling and are much more durable than other materials.

The idea here is that the surface structure is more important than the material. Therefore, the cost of this material can be very cheap, because only using materials from copper, zinc, aluminum .

The cost of this material can be very cheap, due to using only copper, zinc .

Moreover, the potential for using this method is still very large. In the future we can create better non-stick kitchen appliances, self-cleaning windshields, or water-saving toilets because the waste does not stick to the bridge wall.

4. Gel super-thin, super super tough

Hydrogel is a gel with water content up to 90%, the rest are rubber compounds that create elasticity.

Most hydrogels are quite soft and fragile, plasticity similar to human tissue, so they are mainly used as substrates in tissue culture techniques.

However, Zhigang Suo, a materials engineer at Harvard University, and his colleagues created a very tough hydrogel mixture in 2012.

A fragile piece of hydrogel that can withstand the force of falling metal spheres.

As you can see in the picture, a fragile hydrogel can withstand the force of a falling metal ball and pop back without tearing.

This material is a combination of two types of polymers including alginate and polyacrylamide. The alginate molecule creates weak ionic bonds, while polyacrylamide molecules create stronger covalent bonds.

When the gel is stretched, smashed or torn, ionic bonding is easily separated and recombined on the whole material, making the force evenly dispersed (ductility). And the covalent bond will hold the pieces together so that the material can restore its original shape (elasticity).

This material is a combination of two types of polymers including alginate and polyacrylamide.

The new hydrogel is so tough that it can withstand stretching 20 times its original length without tearing, and it is difficult for a person to tear it by hand.

The future of hydrogel membranes can be used to produce artificial, soundproof, or flexible smartphone screens.