Biologically Inspired Ceramics

biology, JPL, caltech, ceramics, biomimcry, materials, material, tensile, organism

biology, JPL, caltech, ceramics, biomimcry, materials, material, tensile, organism

Taking their cue from organisms like diatoms, sea sponges and radiolarians, engineers have started to create biologically inspired, lightweight, mechanically robust ceramic materials.

According to a report published in in Nature Materials, Caltech and NASA JPL researcher have engineered extremely strong materials that mimic the forms found in ocean dwelling creatures. “Our findings suggest that the hierarchical design principles offered by hard biological organisms can be applied to create damage-tolerant lightweight engineering materials,” 

While researchers haven’t outlined the applications they see for their new materials, a lightweight material with high tensile strength could be used to create high anything from high-tension cables to more damage resistant surfaces.

 

Images Courtesy of Nature Materials