Reprinted from materials provided by University of California-Irvine
Date Article Written: Nov. 17, 2011
Scientists have created the world’s lightest solid material, a metal which can be put on top of a dandelion without even crushing its seeds.
The research, published in the latest edition of the journal Science, was carried out at the University of California, and the Irvine and HRL laboratories. The engineers say the material’s strength derives from the ordered nature of its lattice design.
The substance is made of tiny hollow metallic tubes – the walls of which are 1,000 times thinner than those of a human hair – arranged into a criss-crossing diagonal pattern with small open spaces between them. The researchers say the material, which consists of 99.99 per cent air, is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and has ‘extraordinarily high energy absorption’ properties.
Honestly, this article caught my eye because of the picture of a flower with the material on top of it. It's interesting how scientists always compare high technology innovations with something ordinary. Jokes aside, I think it's amazing what the scientists come up with nowadays. Our everyday life is full of things that took a lot of time and research to be made, such as Teflon, Lycra etc. and we should feel privileged to be able to witness science in the making. Whether it will be feasible or useful, time will tell. 
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