據美國工程（engineering）網站報道，賴斯大學的計算模型證明碳炔是世界上最強的材料。

在過去幾個世紀里，材料工程師一直致力于發展更強大的材料。金屬曾經一馬當先，而在最近幾十年里納米材料證明他們是地球上最強的材料。

根據賴斯大學發布的新聞稿，“碳炔是碳原子聚集在一起形成的鏈，這些碳原子通過雙鍵或者交替的單鍵和三鍵連接在一起。”

就是這個簡單的結構，碳炔已被證明比鋼強200多倍，是石墨烯抗拉強度的2倍，石墨烯是前一屆的納米材料強度冠軍。

“你可以把它看作一個薄到極限的石墨烯條帶，厚度減少到只有一個原子，或者薄到極限的納米管，”賴斯大學機械工程教授Boris Yakobson說，“這可能對納米機械系統有用，在自旋電子元件中作為傳感器，作為強、輕機械應用材料或用于能源存儲。”

雖然碳炔過去已經在室溫下合成，科學家們還沒有找到一個方法來批量生產該材料。如果這個突破可以實現，這個新時代的輕、強的材料將會影響地球和太空中的產業。

（中國航空工業發展研究中心   胡燕萍）

原文參考：

The World’s Strongest Material

Computer models at Rice University prove that Carbyne is the world’s strongest material.

For the past century materials engineers have been developing materials that are ever stronger. While a focus on metals led the charge, in recent decades nano-materials are proving themselves to be among the strongest materials on Earth.

According to a Rice press release, “Carbyne is a chain of carbon atoms held together by either double or alternating single and triple atomic bonds.”

With this simple structure, carbyne has proven itself to be some 200 times stronger than steel and has double the tensile strength of graphene, the previous champion of nanomaterials.

“You could look at it as an ultimately thin graphene ribbon, reduced to just one atom, or an ultimately thin nanotube,” said Boris Yakobson professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rice. “It could be useful for nanomechanical systems, in spintronic devices, as sensors, as strong and light materials for mechanical applications or for energy storage.”

Although carbyne has been synthesized at room temperature in the past, scientists have yet to find a method to produce the material in bulk. If that breakthrough could be achieved, a new era of light, strong materials could impact industries both here on Earth and up in space.