Aerographite: World's Lightest Material Is 99.99% Air

Aerographite: World's Lightest Material Is 99.99% Air

Researchers have made a material which is so light it's 99.99% air.

Aerographite takes the title of 'lightest material in the world' away from the micro-lattice material revealed last November, and previous winners like liquid smoke.

The material has a density of less than 0.2 mg per cubic centimetre - which is about 400 times lighter than styrofoam.

The team at the Hamburg University of Technology and Kiel, in Germany, constructed the barely-there stuff out of carbon tubes 'grown' at very small scales, according to New Scientist.

To hold it, the aerographite looks like a black sponge, says New Scientist - though you'd hardly know it was there.

It can also be compressed by 1,000 times before springing back to its original shape, and can support much more weight than competitors like aerogel. According to Phys.org it can actually support up to 40,000 times its own weight.y

Amazingly, it can also conduct electricity, meaning it could be used in batteries or other technology. It is also reportedly resistant to chemical attack.

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