Boeing Has Created the World’s Lightest Metal

Boeing has been working on a lightweight metal structure for quite some time now, and it looks like its efforts have paid off at last, as the company has revealed the world’s lightest metal not too long ago. Dubbed Microlattice, the structure was announced for the first time in 2011 and received a working prototype in 2012. Currently the lightest material known to science, Microlattice is composed of 99.99% air and flaunts a hollow honeycomb design that was actually inspired by bones. The very thin hollow struts that were used to create the lattice feature a diameter of about 100 micrometers while their walls measure just 100 nanometers.

To put things into perspective, Microlattice is about 10 times lighter when compared to Styrofoam, which is quite incredible if you ask me. However, the most impressive thing by far is that this feather-light material is also somehow incredibly strong, which means that it has potential uses in the automotive and aeronautics industries. If implemented into an airplane, the material can dramatically reduce overall weight thus enhancing fuel consumption. It can also be used for vibration insulation and shock reduction. The video below describes the innovative material in greater detail, so you should probably check it out.