Carbon fiber is a material often mixed with plastic or metal to make various products. What’s more, is that it can be up to ten times stronger than steel. Yet, somehow it’s five times as light.
This material has long been popular in the medical and aerospace industries. You can find it in everything from prosthetic limbs to airplane fuselages.
The potential benefits of this material are vast. Want to take a closer look into the world of carbon fiber? If so, then read on to find out!
What Is Carbon Fiber?
Carbon fiber is a material made from carbon strands woven together to form a strong, lightweight fabric. It can be thinner than a strand of hair or thicker than a piece of cardboard.
It’s often mixed with other materials, such as plastic or metal, to create products like sports equipment and car parts. This is because carbon fiber provides the perfect blend of lightweight design and durability.
We can trace the origins of carbon fiber back to the 1800s when Thomas Edison experimented with making fiber out of carbonized cotton. Edison knew carbon fiber was a bright idea!
But, it wasn’t until the 1950s that carbon fiber finally began production commercially. This was thanks mainly to advances in aerospace technology that were being made at the time.
Since then, carbon fiber has become ubiquitous in many industries. It’s used for everything from telescopes to implants and even racecars!
The Benefits of Carbon Fiber
We already know that carbon fiber offers a perfect balance of lightweight and durable design. But what are the other benefits this material can bring to the table? Some of the main benefits include:
- Low weight-to-strength ratio
- High in stiffness
- Temperature tolerance to excess heat
- Low thermal expansion
- High chemical resistance
Carbon fiber is a material that is versatile and useful for many uses. In layperson’s terms, what have these benefits helped society do? Some of how carbon fiber has helped society include:
- Increasing fuel efficiency by reducing weight in aircraft and cars
- Improving mobility for people with prosthetic limbs
- Making stronger, more durable products in many different industries
This material has the potential to improve our lives in countless ways. Those benefits are the tip of the iceberg.
Another cool tidbit is that Bugatti got one of their cars to go 300 mph, thanks to this material. Achieving speeds like that can’t happen on standard tires, so carbon fiber played a crucial role. Otherwise, most tires would warp before getting to that speed.
Consider Using Carbon Fiber Today
Now you know all about the exceptional properties of carbon fiber. It’s already created great strides in many industries. There’s no doubt that this material will continue to change the world for the better.
It might be able to help create earthquake-resistant buildings, more lightweight cars, better robotics, and much more. So why not consider using carbon fiber in your next project? Contact us today so we can help you get started!
