1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hate there 2 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: and Welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:21,320 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeartRadio. And how the tech 4 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:26,799 Speaker 1: are you. I'm back after my vacation and then the holiday, 5 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: and we're ready to tackle some new episodes. And there 6 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,879 Speaker 1: have been a few really big events in the news 7 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 1: over the last few weeks that have a tech angle 8 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,919 Speaker 1: to them. There's the ongoing war in Ukraine, which was 9 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: punctuated by a brief but notable coup attempt in Russia. 10 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: There's the ongoing chaos over at Reddit, which has had 11 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: effects far beyond Reddit itself because companies like Google have 12 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: struggled to deliver satisfying search results, while hundreds of popular 13 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: subreddits either remain dark or cluttered with memes, or some 14 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: of them are set to not safe for work status 15 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,919 Speaker 1: and so they're not showing up properly. And then there's 16 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:16,759 Speaker 1: the Titan submersible, the vehicle where five people perished when 17 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: the submersible suffered a catastrophic failure. I thought today I 18 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: would talk about something relating to that last story. Now 19 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: I'm not going to do a full story about the 20 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: systems aboard the Titan submersible, because a lot of other 21 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: people have already done that to varying degrees. I've seen 22 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: some treatments that were very high level. I've seen one 23 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: really decent video that talked about the various systems. If 24 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 1: you do want a deeper conversation about the Titan submersible, 25 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: I will go into it. But I figure that because 26 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: there's already all this coverage out there, and even by 27 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: the time this episode goes out, you know, with news 28 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: going as fast as it does, a lot of people 29 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: would already say it's old news. So chances are you 30 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: might already know everything there is to know already. But 31 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: if you would like me to do an episode about 32 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: the Titan submersible and its various systems and how it worked, 33 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: let me know and I will be sure to tackle that. 34 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: So instead, for this episode, I thought I would focus 35 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:22,800 Speaker 1: on one of the primary materials, not the only one, 36 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: but one of the big ones used in the construction 37 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:30,239 Speaker 1: of the Titan submersible, which is carbon fiber. I figure 38 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: we can learn about the history of this material and 39 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: what makes it special, and a little bit about how 40 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: it's produced and what applications benefit from it versus ones 41 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 1: that perhaps are not ideal applications of carbon fiber, because, 42 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: as it turns out, carbon fiber has a lot of 43 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: really good legit uses and applications, but not all of 44 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: them make sense necessarily. But let's start by talking about 45 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: carbon itself, because, as the name implies, carbon fiber is 46 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: made up of carbon. It is the sixth most plentiful 47 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: element in the universe by the number of atoms out there, 48 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: according to Encyclopedia Britannica. That is, it trails behind hydrogen, helium, oxygen, neon, 49 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: and nitrogen. On Earth, carbon doesn't really rank that high 50 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: as far as elements found in the Earth's crust. In fact, 51 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: it makes up about point zero two five percent of 52 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: the Earth's crust. Now, despite this tiny little pathetic showing 53 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: on the Earth's crust, carbon is actually part of more 54 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: compounds than any other element. It can make more compounds 55 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: than any element you can think of. In fact, it 56 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: forms more compounds than all the other elements put together. 57 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: Not put together in a compound, but I mean, like 58 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: all their various combinations that we have discovered. Now you've 59 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: likely heard the fray, the carbon based life form. At 60 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: least you have. If you've watched any science fiction, you've 61 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: probably heard the phrase organic compounds. Well, an organic compound 62 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: is one that contains carbon, and any compound that does 63 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:22,039 Speaker 1: not contain carbon is an inorganic compound. So why do 64 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:28,359 Speaker 1: scientists associate the words life and organic with carbon. Well, 65 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 1: it's because of carbon's tendency to form multitudes of compounds 66 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 1: at a range of temperatures that we find here on Earth. Right, 67 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: not all elements will form specific compounds under Earth temperatures. 68 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: You might have to go to extremes to create certain compounds, 69 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 1: but carbon readily forms countless compounds here on Earth just 70 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: in regular Earth conditions. Many of those compounds are polymers. 71 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: Polymers are large molecules that are made up of repeated 72 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:04,720 Speaker 1: units that are chained together, and all living stuff on 73 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: Earth has carbon in it. So the thinking goes that 74 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: carbon is just so well suited for making all these 75 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: different compounds at temperatures that we associate as being livable 76 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,239 Speaker 1: temperatures that, at least here on Earth, it makes sense 77 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: that it's a foundational element for life. Now, whether that 78 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: is true elsewhere in the universe is hard for us 79 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:27,480 Speaker 1: to say. We have a sample size of one planet 80 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: that we know to have life on it, and we 81 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: live on it. That's it. We don't know of any 82 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:37,159 Speaker 1: other planets. It's quite possible there are maybe countless planets 83 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: that have life on them. We don't know about them. 84 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,919 Speaker 1: Carbon's utility and tendency to bind in molecular compounds seems 85 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: to give it an edge over others. But science fiction 86 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,839 Speaker 1: is filled with examples of, say, alien civilizations that turn 87 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: out to be life forms that are based on other 88 00:05:54,600 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: elements like silicon. It's just that carbon. Because it's such 89 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: an interesting element, and it does form all these compounds 90 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: so readily under earthlike conditions, we figure this is probably 91 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: a cornerstone for life, at least life as we understand it. 92 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: Carbon is non metallic. You know, if you burn wood 93 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: down into charcoal, that's carbon. That's the charcoal is carbon. 94 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: If you squeeze it hard and hot and long enough, 95 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: which sounds a bit racy, but if you do that, 96 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: then obviously you get a diamond. Carbon's really neat. Depending 97 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: upon its molecular arrangement, it can be soft enough to 98 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: use as pencil lead that would be graphite, right, Like, 99 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 1: that's soft enough where if you drag the lead across vapor. 100 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: It leaves some of it behind, right, it's just the 101 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: pressure of your hand pushing the pencil against paper is 102 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,840 Speaker 1: enough to rub some of the carbon off. That's graphite, 103 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,039 Speaker 1: But it could also be made into a diamond, which 104 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 1: is hard enough to cut most other materials. Again, it's 105 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,720 Speaker 1: all in that molecular structure. How are those carbon atoms arranged, 106 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: and that's what really matters. How do those carbon atoms 107 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: form crystaline structures. That determines the features of the material 108 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: that you end up with in aggregate, whether that's coal 109 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: or charcoal or diamond or anything like that. So that's 110 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: carbon in a nutshell. Well, obviously you could spend multiple 111 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: university level chemistry classes talking about it. I mean, the 112 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: whole branch of organic chemistry focuses on it. But for 113 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: our purposes we're gonna leave off from there because really 114 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: there's not much more to say about it when we're 115 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: talking about carbon fiber. So let's turn our attention there. 116 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: And by the way, first of all, if you're in America, 117 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: you're probably spelling fiber fiber, and if you're a brit 118 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: you're probably spelling it fiber bray I bre Now I've 119 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: already mentioned that carbon can form polymers, these long chain 120 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: molecules that have repeating structures in them. A carbon fiber 121 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: is essentially a really really long one of these, or 122 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: rather a tube made up of these carbon nanotubes, by 123 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: the way, kind of takes the same concept, but down 124 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: to the nano level. Anyway, carbon fiber material ends up 125 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: being lightweight and strong. It can be electrically conductive. It 126 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: can also be thermally conductive, depending upon the carbon fiber 127 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: used in the process you use to produce it. We'll 128 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: talk more about the qualities of carbon fiber in a bit, 129 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: but before we get to that, let's talk about its 130 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: actual history. The story of carbon fiber is fascinating and 131 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: it involves the inventor of the incandescent light bulb. And 132 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: some of y'all clever smarty pants out there already know 133 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:02,240 Speaker 1: I'm being coy because I am not talking about Thomas Edison. 134 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: Thomas Edison did not invent the incandescent light bulb. Now 135 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,320 Speaker 1: here in America. One of Edison's many nicknames is the 136 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: Inventor of the light bulb. But the truth is that 137 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: Joseph Wilson swan over in the UK, beat Edison to 138 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: the punch by a couple of decades, and he did 139 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: it using carbon fiber as a filament, or at least 140 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:28,160 Speaker 1: eventually he did use carbon fiber. So we're talking around 141 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,520 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty here, and before figuring out how to make 142 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:36,199 Speaker 1: carbon fiber, Swan had started off with carbonized paper as 143 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: the filament. So this is the stuff folks would use 144 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: to produce copies from one document. You would have your 145 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: primary document and that would be on the top of 146 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 1: a stack. Right below your primary document would be a 147 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: sheet of carbonized paper that is paper coated with carbon 148 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 1: on one side the site that's face downward from the 149 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,040 Speaker 1: top page. And then the next layer would be a 150 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: blank sheet of paper that would be your copy that 151 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: you'd be creating. So if you wrote on the top document, 152 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 1: it would put enough pressure on this carbonized paper to 153 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: leave an imprint on the blank sheet below that, and boom, 154 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: you get two documents for the effort of making one. Now, 155 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: you could actually do more layers of carbonized paper than 156 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: blank sheets, but as you go down the layers, the 157 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: pressure that is being put on the paper is decreasing, 158 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 1: so unless you're being super heavy handed with your writing, 159 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:31,320 Speaker 1: the bottom copies will be much more faint than the 160 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: upper ones would be, so you have a limit to 161 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: how many copies you can produce through this method. Anyway, 162 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:40,840 Speaker 1: Swan was using carbonized paper as his filament, so he 163 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: was connecting pieces of carbonized paper to a pair of electrodes, 164 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 1: and he encased the whole thing in glass and attempted 165 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 1: to create a vacuum inside the glass and then zap 166 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:55,080 Speaker 1: the heck out of the paper using the electrodes. The 167 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 1: paper would heat up to the point of glowing, but 168 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 1: the lack of oxidizers in the glass meant it wouldn't 169 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 1: catch fire, except the Swan couldn't get a perfect vacuum 170 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,079 Speaker 1: seal in. The carbon paper didn't last very long, nor 171 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:09,400 Speaker 1: did it give off much light, so it wasn't really 172 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: a practical filament for an incandescent bulb. It worked in 173 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: the sense that it would glow, but it wasn't bright 174 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: enough and it didn't last long enough for it to 175 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:23,080 Speaker 1: have any practical use. So Swan wanted to find something 176 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: else to serve as the filament in his incandescent bulb. 177 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 1: He was also experimenting with some other stuff like nitro cellulose. 178 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 1: This stuff is highly flammable, so flammable that at one 179 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:36,080 Speaker 1: time it was being used as propellant for firearms, and 180 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:39,240 Speaker 1: it was called gun cotton back in those days. Well, 181 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:43,000 Speaker 1: Swan figured out that he could push nitro cellulus through 182 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: like a mesh with very small holes in it, and 183 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: the nitro cellulus would form fibers as a result, kinda 184 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: like one of those playto playsets where you push down 185 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: on a lever and it squeezes your play doo through 186 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,680 Speaker 1: a grid of holes, so you can make I don't know, dayglo, 187 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: pink spaghetti or what. Well what Swan did the nitro cellulose, 188 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: he also tried with carbon. He took carbon and in 189 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: the form of cotton fibers. In this case, he treated 190 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 1: the cotton fibers with sulfuric acid and then he pressed 191 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 1: this solution through a screen with tiny holes in it, 192 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:20,200 Speaker 1: and on the other side of the screen he ended 193 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: up with carbon fibers, and he could curl those fibers 194 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:26,440 Speaker 1: up to make tight spirals, which would increase the amount 195 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 1: of material that he could fit between a pair of electrodes. 196 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: And the carbon fibers, when used as a filament, produced 197 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: better light than the carbon paper version he had been 198 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: relying on and his process for making carbon fiber would 199 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: become a standard. There are chemists and labs today who 200 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 1: essentially use the exact same approach, though things get way 201 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: more complicated when you're talking about mass engineering. For you, 202 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:53,719 Speaker 1: big industrial uses of carbon fiber. Now we're going to 203 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: take a quick break. When we come back, we'll talk 204 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: more about what makes carbon fiber special, but first let's 205 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:12,960 Speaker 1: hear from our sponsors. Okay. As smart as smarty pants 206 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,840 Speaker 1: Swan was, he wasn't able to see the potential mechanical 207 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:19,839 Speaker 1: applications of carbon fiber. He was just using it as 208 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 1: an incandescent bulb filament. But he had no way to 209 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:26,240 Speaker 1: know that his material, if woven properly and combined with 210 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:30,320 Speaker 1: other stuff, could be strong, lightweight, and perfect for futuristic 211 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: applications like the aerospace industry. Silly Swan not to anticipate 212 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 1: all those uses back in the mid nineteenth century. Now. 213 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,479 Speaker 1: In fact, carbon fiber would kind of go into hibernation 214 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 1: for many decades because there just weren't any practical uses 215 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: for it or any real way to produce it at scale. 216 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:51,319 Speaker 1: It re emerged in nineteen fifty eight when a physicist 217 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:55,080 Speaker 1: named Roger Bacon produced carbon fiber and discovered that if 218 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 1: constructed properly, it would be a really stiff, really strong, 219 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:03,640 Speaker 1: and extremely lightweight material. But it was super expensive to 220 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:06,760 Speaker 1: produce due to the time and effort involved, and the 221 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,839 Speaker 1: small amount of output you would get meant that there 222 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:11,840 Speaker 1: wasn't much you could do with it, so there was 223 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: no commercial use for it just yet. But he was 224 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:19,280 Speaker 1: showing that this material had promise and that people would 225 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 1: likewise start to pour money into improving manufacturing processes to 226 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 1: make it practical. The evolution of those processes happened mainly 227 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: in the nineteen seventies. Scientists in different parts of the 228 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 1: world found new ways to produce carbon fibers. Some of 229 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: those would be suitable for high heat applications, such as 230 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:42,680 Speaker 1: in the aerospace industry, where you might need to radiate 231 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 1: heat outward from an engine before you get to a 232 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,800 Speaker 1: point where that's no longer your concern. Others would be 233 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,760 Speaker 1: suitable for more terrestrial uses. The eighties and nineties proved 234 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 1: to be a boom era for carbon fiber research and development, 235 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 1: as engineers recognized the material as being a good candidate 236 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:03,960 Speaker 1: for various applications, particularly in the space industry. Where there 237 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: is a real need to create materials that are very strong, 238 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: but you also want to cut way back on weight 239 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: as much as you can in order to reduce the 240 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:15,560 Speaker 1: amount of energy you need to launch the stuff off 241 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: this rock in the first place. So carbon fiber would 242 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: become a really strong candidate for lots of space based applications. Now, 243 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:27,520 Speaker 1: as I mentioned earlier, carbon fiber has some really cool properties. 244 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 1: It is really strong and really light. In fact, it's 245 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: five to ten times stronger than steel, depending upon which 246 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:39,720 Speaker 1: source you're reading and the method of production for carbon fibers, 247 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 1: and the specific type of steel you're talking about, and 248 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: what you're actually looking at. So saying it's stronger than 249 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: steel has really a simple answer to a complex situation, 250 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:51,640 Speaker 1: and it does mean that we need to spend a 251 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,680 Speaker 1: little bit more time to talk about material strength and 252 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: what that actually means. So essentially, we quantify a material 253 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: strength by examining how much stress or strain it can 254 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: withstand before the structure we're looking at deforms to a 255 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,920 Speaker 1: point that when we remove the stress, it will not 256 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: go back to its original shape. So, in other words, 257 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 1: if you were to bend a bar and then you 258 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: stop applying force, to the bar and the bar stays bent, 259 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: you have exceeded the material strength of that bar. And 260 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: if it pops back into its regular bar shape, then 261 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:33,480 Speaker 1: you did not exceed the material strength of that bar. 262 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: There are different kinds of stresses that you can apply 263 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 1: to materials, So when we say something is strong, we 264 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: actually have to think about in what context. So again, 265 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 1: let's talk about it having a short pipe. Now it's 266 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 1: made out of whatever, it doesn't matter. We're just talking 267 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 1: about the types of stresses you could put on this pipe. 268 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:55,120 Speaker 1: So let's say that you were to grip either end 269 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 1: of that pipe and you were to pull in opposite directions, 270 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:02,760 Speaker 1: trying to allow lung gate the pipe. You're putting tension 271 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 1: on it. This is the test for tensile strength of 272 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: the pipe. How well does it hold up to stresses 273 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:14,680 Speaker 1: that attempt to elongate the material. And once you reach 274 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:19,159 Speaker 1: the point where you have exceeded that material strength, that 275 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: tensile strength of that material, does it rip apart? Does 276 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: it shatter? What happens? Now? What if instead of pulling 277 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,439 Speaker 1: on either end, you were pushing inward on either end 278 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: of the pipe. You're trying to compress the pipe, You're 279 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,879 Speaker 1: squeezing the material. In other words, typically most materials have 280 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 1: a high compressive strength compared to tensile strength, like a 281 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,399 Speaker 1: higher one. There are some elements at play here that 282 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:51,720 Speaker 1: can lead to other complications, Like, yes, it may be 283 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:57,359 Speaker 1: that it can withstand compression and it doesn't really compress 284 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 1: beyond a certain point, but it might buckle, right, So 285 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: there are other elements you have to look at when 286 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: you're testing compressive strength. Then you've got sheer strength. Now, 287 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,680 Speaker 1: not sheer as an sh ee r strength. I'm talking 288 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,920 Speaker 1: about sh ea r strength like a pair of shears, 289 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:19,400 Speaker 1: because scissors effectively put this kind of stress on a material. 290 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:23,439 Speaker 1: So a shear stress is one in which the stress 291 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: on either end of the material is parallel to each other, 292 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 1: but they're in opposite direction. So if you think of scissors, 293 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 1: like when the blades of scissors are coming together, one 294 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,959 Speaker 1: blade moving down, the other blade moving up, it is 295 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: putting that kind of pressure on the material that you're cutting. Right, 296 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:42,160 Speaker 1: the one blade is moving up, one blade is moving down, 297 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 1: so they are parallel to each other, but they're moving 298 00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 1: in opposite directions. And if you apply that kind of 299 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,400 Speaker 1: stress to a material, you can find out how resistant 300 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,960 Speaker 1: it is to shear stresses. So this is also called 301 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:03,680 Speaker 1: torsional loading. Right, You're at a torsional load to the material. Now, 302 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: comparing materials against each other isn't always as simple as 303 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:12,160 Speaker 1: saying one is stronger than the other. One material might 304 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:16,440 Speaker 1: have greater tensile strength, meaning it could withstand elongation better 305 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,360 Speaker 1: than another material could in the same sort of situation. 306 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 1: But maybe that first material can't hold up to the 307 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:28,320 Speaker 1: same sheer stresses that material two can withstand. You know, 308 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:33,360 Speaker 1: like some Facebook relationship status is it's complicated? Just does 309 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: Facebook actually still have its complicated as a relationship status? 310 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:39,520 Speaker 1: Is anyone still on Facebook? Can I get a check 311 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:43,159 Speaker 1: on that? Anyway? Let's get back to carbon fiber. I 312 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,879 Speaker 1: think one way we can look at this is to 313 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 1: think of strength in comparison to some other component and 314 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: then compare two different materials. So in this case, we'll 315 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:59,160 Speaker 1: say strength to weight ratio. How strong is something compared 316 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 1: to how much which it weighs. If we do that, 317 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 1: if we look at it as strength to weight, carbon 318 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: fiber is way stronger than steel. If you have a 319 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,239 Speaker 1: pound of carbon fiber and a pound of steel and 320 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 1: they both have been made into some sort of you know, structure, 321 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:22,000 Speaker 1: the carbon fiber is going to be technically stronger than 322 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,480 Speaker 1: the steel is, and that's because steel is a really 323 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:29,440 Speaker 1: super dense material. So depending upon the application, a lightweight 324 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:33,160 Speaker 1: carbon fiber structure might be the way to go. For example, 325 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: if you wanted to create a resilient helmet for football 326 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 1: players I'm talking about American football here, well you would 327 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 1: probably want to go with carbon fiber, not with steel, 328 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: because I'm pretty sure no football player wants to wear 329 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:49,199 Speaker 1: a big steel helmet out on the field. But a 330 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 1: lightweight helmet made with carbon fiber, that's a different story. However, 331 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:58,359 Speaker 1: if we were to instead look at strength compared to volume, 332 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,680 Speaker 1: the story is different. I watched a video from Crazy 333 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: Hydraulic Press that compared stuff like acrylic fiberglass, aluminum, or 334 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:14,240 Speaker 1: aluminium if you prefer brass, titanium, steel, and carbon fiber 335 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: to a hydraulic press test. The video has all of 336 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: these materials made in the same simple shape a rectangular rod, 337 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:26,200 Speaker 1: so you know, it's like a rod, but it's squared off, 338 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,640 Speaker 1: it's not a circular rod, and it's the exact same 339 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:34,520 Speaker 1: dimensions for every single material, same length, same with you know, 340 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 1: So that way you've got different substances, but they all 341 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:42,000 Speaker 1: are making rods of the exact same size from each substance. 342 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: And that means that when you put the rods next 343 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 1: to each other, the carbon fiber rod is going to 344 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:51,959 Speaker 1: weigh a lot less than the steel rod will, right, 345 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:55,960 Speaker 1: because steel is way more dense, it's heavier, it's gonna 346 00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:00,480 Speaker 1: have more mass, even though the physical dimension of the 347 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: two rods will otherwise be identical. Right, And if you 348 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:07,479 Speaker 1: put these two different rods to the test, the steel 349 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,879 Speaker 1: one's likely to hold up better because by volume, steel 350 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,040 Speaker 1: is the stronger material. If you look at weight, carbon 351 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:17,919 Speaker 1: fibers the stronger material. Like I said, it's complicated. And 352 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 1: for the record, in the video I watched, the carbon 353 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:23,280 Speaker 1: fiber rod had a mass of fifteen point two grams 354 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,120 Speaker 1: and the steel rod had a mass of seventy six 355 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,160 Speaker 1: point eight grams. If we were to convert that to weight, 356 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:31,199 Speaker 1: and let's say we just go with pounds just to 357 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:34,399 Speaker 1: make it silly, then the carbon fiber weigh just point 358 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:38,719 Speaker 1: zero three pounds. The steel rod weighed point one seven, 359 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:43,679 Speaker 1: so way way more than the carbon fiber rod. And 360 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: in the video they set the rods lengthwise across two prongs, 361 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: metal prongs, and they use a hydraulic press to apply 362 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,199 Speaker 1: stress down across the length of the rod, like to 363 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: push down right in the middle. So it's sort of 364 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: like if you were to take a branch and try 365 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,000 Speaker 1: to break it in half across your leg. The carbon 366 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:05,639 Speaker 1: fiber rod broke when the press hit seven hundred and 367 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 1: forty kilograms of weight at that point of the rod, 368 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,199 Speaker 1: and the steel held out till three thousand, eight hundred 369 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 1: seventy kilograms. So again, carbon fiber seven hundred and forty, 370 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:24,000 Speaker 1: steel threey, eight hundred and seventy. But the story would 371 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,880 Speaker 1: be totally different if instead of volume, we were going 372 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 1: by weight. If you had fifteen point two grams of 373 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,800 Speaker 1: carbon fiber and fifteen point two grams of steel, you 374 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: would see that the carbon fiber would hold up way 375 00:23:38,119 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: better because that would be a very small steel rod, 376 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:46,439 Speaker 1: very thin, and it would deform much faster than the 377 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: carbon fiber would. And I'm going to talk more about 378 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,040 Speaker 1: carbon fiber, but we do need to take another quick 379 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: break to thank our sponsors. We'll be right back to 380 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:02,200 Speaker 1: talk a bit more about what carbon fiber is used 381 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,880 Speaker 1: for and how it's used. Because it's not as simple 382 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,879 Speaker 1: as just making a frame out of carbon fiber. But 383 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:20,280 Speaker 1: we'll talk about that in just a moment. Okay, before 384 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:25,479 Speaker 1: the break, I talked about how carbon fiber is not 385 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: just used as pure carbon fiber and stuff. In fact, 386 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 1: we're usually talking about carbon fiber that is bonded to 387 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,119 Speaker 1: some other material, and carbon fiber access kind of like 388 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,239 Speaker 1: a reinforcing layer. So I like to think of it 389 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:45,119 Speaker 1: as similar to iron rebar that's inside a concrete structure, 390 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 1: because the carbon fiber is providing strength and resilience, but 391 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 1: it doesn't make up the totality of say the football helmet, 392 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:56,400 Speaker 1: for example, you have a binding agent in there. Typically 393 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: you're using something like plastic and you're reinforcing it with 394 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 1: carb fiber. So, to put it in another way, steel is 395 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: really hard stuff. It's also really heavy, and it's challenging 396 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:13,159 Speaker 1: to mold steel into complicated shapes. We can do simple 397 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:15,879 Speaker 1: shapes pretty easily, but if you want to do something 398 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:22,159 Speaker 1: like a really a complex curve, maybe multiple curves in 399 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 1: a single panel, it's hard to get steel to take 400 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:31,320 Speaker 1: that shape and not have it be an exorbitantly expensive process. 401 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,840 Speaker 1: But using a technology like injection molding and a material 402 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,600 Speaker 1: like plastic, you can create all sorts of wild shapes, 403 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: and plastic is way lighter than steel, but of course 404 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:46,680 Speaker 1: it's nowhere near as strong. So combining plastic with carbon 405 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,760 Speaker 1: fiber can provide the strength you want, the weight you want, 406 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:55,040 Speaker 1: and the shape you want. Now, let's talk about what 407 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: happens when carbon fiber fails. That is, when you apply 408 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:03,280 Speaker 1: a stress that exceeds the material strength of carbon fiber, 409 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: and you're doing this to a structure made out of 410 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:10,639 Speaker 1: carbon fiber. Unlike some other materials, carbon fiber will not 411 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:15,960 Speaker 1: remain permanently deformed if a stress exceeds its material strength. Right, 412 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:20,200 Speaker 1: Like we were talking about the classic iron bars example 413 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:23,359 Speaker 1: of bending an iron bar, Well, you can bend an 414 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:26,159 Speaker 1: iron bar and it will stay bent, but that doesn't 415 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:30,600 Speaker 1: happen with carbon fiber. Instead, as dragon plate carbon fiber 416 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:36,920 Speaker 1: composites puts it quote, it will fail suddenly and catastrophically 417 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:39,919 Speaker 1: end quote. So in other words, once you go past 418 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,479 Speaker 1: the stress limit for carbon fiber, it's all over. You 419 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:47,119 Speaker 1: don't end up with a dent that can be hammered 420 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:51,480 Speaker 1: out later. You end up with shattered material or splintered material. 421 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:57,280 Speaker 1: To this day, carbon fiber fabrication is really expensive and 422 00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:01,680 Speaker 1: it's complicated. When you look at a carbon fiber frame bicycle, 423 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,719 Speaker 1: for example, you're not looking at something that's made out 424 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 1: of pure carbon fiber. You're really looking at a compound 425 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,200 Speaker 1: or a composite rather made out of material like plastic 426 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:15,640 Speaker 1: that has carbon fiber sandwiched inside of it to provide 427 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,959 Speaker 1: rigidity and strength. It wouldn't make any sense from an 428 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:23,160 Speaker 1: economic standpoint to go with a pure carbon fiber frame 429 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: to replace, like I don't know, the chassis of an automobile, 430 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:30,240 Speaker 1: for example. You could go with a compound or composite 431 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 1: that uses carbon fiber, and you would end up with 432 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,240 Speaker 1: a chassis that could be as strong as a steel chassis, 433 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,640 Speaker 1: but much much lighter, which ends up going to it's 434 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:42,000 Speaker 1: going to have a big effect on things like fuel economy, 435 00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:44,200 Speaker 1: right because the engine's not going to have to move 436 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 1: a vehicle that's nearly as heavy if the components are 437 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:51,119 Speaker 1: made from carbon fiber as opposed to steal. If you 438 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: did go full carbon fiber, you would run into lots 439 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 1: of problems. One would be the price tag because it 440 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: would just be exorbitantly expensive. But also carbon fiber is 441 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,480 Speaker 1: not the perfect solution to all challenges. It's just a 442 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 1: solution for certain engineering needs. Like there are components within 443 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:11,359 Speaker 1: vehicles that undergo a lot of different stress, right, not 444 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 1: just tensile or compression, but also you know rotational that 445 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:18,520 Speaker 1: tortionial force can be a part of it. And in 446 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:23,640 Speaker 1: some of those applications a carbon fiber composite might shatter, 447 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 1: whereas in other applications it's the carbon fiber composite is 448 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,639 Speaker 1: a perfect solution. So yeah, you have to pick and choose. 449 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: You don't have just one material that's good for everything. Now, 450 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 1: this brings us up to the tragedy of the Titan submersible. 451 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: As we all know now, the Titan had a catastrophic 452 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: failure that resulted in the implosion of the vehicle deep 453 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: in the Atlantic Ocean. Authorities have now salvaged some of 454 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 1: the wreckage and we can expect a full investigation to 455 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: determine what was the point of failure, if it is 456 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:01,560 Speaker 1: in fact possible to determine that. Now, there's a chance 457 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:05,160 Speaker 1: that the culprit here is the carbon fiber hull, which 458 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,880 Speaker 1: wasn't totally carbon fiber. The end caps were made out 459 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: of titanium, but the body of the submersible was carbon 460 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: fiber or a carbon fiber composite. It's possible that the 461 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:20,000 Speaker 1: carbon fiber composite failed to hold up under the massive 462 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 1: pressure that was exerted upon it by the sea. You know, 463 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: as you get into those depths, that's a lot of 464 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 1: weight that's pushing down on you. That pressure is incredible. 465 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 1: It could also turn out that a totally different part 466 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 1: of the submersible was to blame. One potential culprit could 467 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 1: be the epoxy that actually bound the carbon fibers together. Remember, 468 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:48,400 Speaker 1: carbon fiber typically ends up being part of something else, 469 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 1: like sandwiched in with other materials, and the epoxy was 470 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 1: what kept the carbon fibers in their shape in the 471 00:29:55,600 --> 00:30:01,520 Speaker 1: proper alignment. So maybe that epoxy, after multiple and prolonged 472 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:06,880 Speaker 1: exposure to sea water, degraded. We don't know yet. Still, 473 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:10,160 Speaker 1: the use of carbon fiber at all as a submersible 474 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 1: material made it a little confusing for me. As we 475 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:16,960 Speaker 1: have covered, a big advantage of carbon fiber is its 476 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 1: strength to weight ratio, and so it's really really good 477 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,520 Speaker 1: for applications where you want to limit weight as much 478 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:28,800 Speaker 1: as you can while not giving ground on strength. Right, 479 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,720 Speaker 1: you want something to be strong but light weight every 480 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 1: pound counts. So again, when we look at the space industry, 481 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:37,960 Speaker 1: it makes perfect sense. You want materials that are as 482 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,480 Speaker 1: strong as they can be while still being light weight. 483 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:44,040 Speaker 1: Steel is strong, but steel's really heavy. So if you 484 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:47,000 Speaker 1: can make it out of something else that's resilient and 485 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:51,640 Speaker 1: tough like steel is, but is much lighter, that can 486 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,680 Speaker 1: make a lot of sense. But when it comes to submersibles, 487 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:58,720 Speaker 1: weight is not necessarily your primary concern. I mean, you 488 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:01,200 Speaker 1: don't want it to be so heavy that there's no 489 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:03,440 Speaker 1: way for you to lift it back out again. But 490 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:08,120 Speaker 1: you want really whole integrity. That's your main concern, not 491 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 1: how heavy the submersible is. Most deep sea vehicles make 492 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 1: use of steel, titanium, and aluminum rather than carbon fiber 493 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:21,200 Speaker 1: when it comes to what their pressure holes are made 494 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 1: out of. Also, you know, there hasn't been that much 495 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:28,720 Speaker 1: research into how carbon fiber holds up under deep sea pressure, 496 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 1: which means we don't know what we don't know. We 497 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 1: have a big gap in our knowledge. And that was 498 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:39,880 Speaker 1: one of the big criticisms directed at ocean Gate, the 499 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 1: company behind the Titan submersible, that the company had rushed 500 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 1: through the process of making a submersible with a carbon 501 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:53,640 Speaker 1: fiber hull without first going through really rigorous testing to 502 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: make certain that the carbon fiber hull was appropriate for 503 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,520 Speaker 1: the use that they had in mind for the titan 504 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:06,400 Speaker 1: mainly to go down and view the wreckage of the Titanic. Now, 505 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:08,760 Speaker 1: we do know that titan had already made trips down 506 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,520 Speaker 1: to the Titanic in the past. This was not the 507 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:16,040 Speaker 1: Titans made in voyage where the catastrophe happened. It had 508 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:20,320 Speaker 1: gone down there before, so the submersible had proven to 509 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:24,760 Speaker 1: be deep sea worthy on previous trips, which means we 510 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:27,760 Speaker 1: really do need to get a more definitive answer after 511 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:30,800 Speaker 1: authorities have investigated the wreckage to try and figure out 512 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:34,280 Speaker 1: what actually happened. Where was the failure, because right now 513 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,160 Speaker 1: it's all still a big question mark. Was it the 514 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:42,320 Speaker 1: carbon fiber hull, Maybe, but maybe not. As for carbon 515 00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:45,200 Speaker 1: fiber itself, that's going to continue to be a really 516 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:51,320 Speaker 1: important material in engineering, particularly for things like aircraft, you know, 517 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:57,600 Speaker 1: the aerospace industry, things like automotive industry, bicycles, anywhere where 518 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,040 Speaker 1: you want a lot of strength but you want to 519 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,880 Speaker 1: cut down on weight. That's where it's going to make sense, 520 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,960 Speaker 1: not in every application, because again carbon fiber doesn't work 521 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:13,040 Speaker 1: under every situation at the same level of reliability as 522 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 1: steel or other materials like aluminum, So it's all dependent 523 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:21,800 Speaker 1: upon the specific application. This is not like one material 524 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: solves all problems. And the reason why I keep hammering 525 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:26,760 Speaker 1: on that, I know I sound like a broken record, 526 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:28,840 Speaker 1: but the reason I keep doing it is because I 527 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:34,400 Speaker 1: find that a lot of science reporting oversimplifies and just 528 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,400 Speaker 1: says carbon fiber is lighter and stronger than steel. And 529 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:43,600 Speaker 1: while that might be true in some particular instances, it 530 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:47,160 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that carbon fiber should replace steel in everything 531 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 1: that we rely upon for you know, from steel. So 532 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:54,160 Speaker 1: that's why I go on and on about this, because 533 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:56,280 Speaker 1: I think you have to look at it as a 534 00:33:56,320 --> 00:34:00,600 Speaker 1: more complicated subject than that. Otherwise you're over simplifying to 535 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 1: a point where you just start to make bad decisions. 536 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,640 Speaker 1: Now I'm not saying that's what ocean Gate did in 537 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:09,839 Speaker 1: this case, but based upon a lot of the criticisms 538 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:14,720 Speaker 1: I've seen, it sounds as if Stockton Rush, the founder 539 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:18,120 Speaker 1: of ocean Gate, he was aboard the Titan submersible when 540 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:24,600 Speaker 1: it imploded, that perhaps he was a little too gung 541 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:30,840 Speaker 1: ho in forging a path forward to go through the 542 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:33,520 Speaker 1: rigorous steps that are really necessary to do things like 543 00:34:33,640 --> 00:34:38,040 Speaker 1: make certain that the approach you're using is safe and reliable. 544 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:43,279 Speaker 1: Could this have tragedy have been prevented. It's hard to 545 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:46,239 Speaker 1: say because the investigation hasn't been complete yet. Maybe there 546 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:52,359 Speaker 1: was some wild thing that happened that we didn't anticipate, 547 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,160 Speaker 1: that couldn't have been anticipated, and it turns out that 548 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:59,560 Speaker 1: nothing we would do or have done would have changed it. 549 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:03,440 Speaker 1: Or maybe it turns out that this was something that 550 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 1: was avoidable. We just don't know yet. So carbon fiber 551 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:14,880 Speaker 1: is still really interesting material, still really useful for specific applications, 552 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:19,400 Speaker 1: and this could also lead into a deeper discussion of 553 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:22,839 Speaker 1: things like carbon nanotubes, which in itself that's a fascinating 554 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:26,800 Speaker 1: technology too. When you start getting down to the nanoscale, 555 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:33,440 Speaker 1: you really see some very interesting features of materials, including 556 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:39,600 Speaker 1: carbon and carbon nanotubes being a super cool area of technology, 557 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 1: but one we've been talking about for a long time, 558 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:45,200 Speaker 1: and for some people it may just seem like it 559 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:48,120 Speaker 1: was one of those technologies that seemed like it had 560 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:50,160 Speaker 1: a lot of promise but never went anywhere. That's not 561 00:35:50,239 --> 00:35:53,719 Speaker 1: the case. It has gone places. It's just that it's 562 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:58,279 Speaker 1: not as sudden as we would all like, because we 563 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:02,960 Speaker 1: as we know, the real way toward the future is 564 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:06,600 Speaker 1: marking the passage of time and that doesn't change. That 565 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:09,880 Speaker 1: just keeps on creeping on, creeping on. All right, that's 566 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:13,920 Speaker 1: it for this episode about carbon fiber, a kind of 567 00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:17,920 Speaker 1: overview of carbon fiber. And I hope all of you 568 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:20,160 Speaker 1: are well. I hope those of you in the United 569 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:23,200 Speaker 1: States had a fun and safe Fourth of July. I 570 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:25,120 Speaker 1: hope everyone to have a fun and safe Fourth of July. 571 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:27,680 Speaker 1: You just don't have a real reason to celebrate Fourth 572 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:31,600 Speaker 1: of July if you're not American, because it's related to 573 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:35,520 Speaker 1: our history. So hope you're all well, and I'll talk 574 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:46,200 Speaker 1: to you again really soon. Tech Stuff is an iHeartRadio production. 575 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:51,560 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 576 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:57,520 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.