New materials

Question 1

What is glulam (glued laminated timber)?

Answer 1

Specially selected pieces of timber glued together. Like a traditional laminate but extremely strong and durable due to the careful selection of timber, avoiding knots and other defects.

Question 2

What are the properties of glulam?

Answer 2

strong
easy to shape
sustainable

Question 3

What is glulam used for?

Answer 3

Laminated beams

Question 4

What is kevlar?

Answer 4

Kevlar is created using aromatic polyamide fibres that are extremely strong. The fibres are often woven into different fabrics and can be used with resins to create strong, solid structures.

Question 5

What are the properties of kevlar?

Answer 5

strong (bulletproof)
easy to form
lightweight

Question 6

What is kevlar used in?

Answer 6

Bulletproof vests, aircraft components such as fuselage panels

Question 7

What is precious metal clay (PMC)?

Answer 7

PMC is a modelling clay that contains microscopic particles of gold, silver and other metals.

Question 8

What are the properties of PMC?

Answer 8

easy to mould
binds when sintered at around 700°C for 10 minutes
intricate designs

Question 9

What is PMC used in?

Answer 9

Jewelry

Question 10

What is graphene?

Answer 10

Graphene is a 2D nanomaterial that is a layer of one atom thick carbon, connected in a hexagonal structure.

Question 11

What are the properties of graphene?

Answer 11

strong
one atom thick
flexible
conductive

Question 12

What is graphene used in?

Answer 12

transistors, flexible screens, batteries, drug delivery