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| Pykrete | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 13 2010, 04:59 PM (986 Views) | |
| CJ | May 13 2010, 04:59 PM Post #1 |
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A very minor case of serious brain damage
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We don't really have anything on material sciences so far, so I thought I'd start this. Pykrete is a composite material that was invented during World War II by Geoffrey Pyke, which was intended to be used to construct an unsinkable aircraft carrier. His original plan was to use ice: he tested this by building a 60ft, 1000-ton ice ship on Patricia Lake in the Canadian Rockies, which took several months to melt completely. However, ice proved insufficiently strong for use in warfare, so Pyke invented pykrete, which is made up of 14% wood shavings, mixed with ice, which makes up the remaining 86%. This proved highly durable when kept at or below freezing; for example, it was able to withstand bullets, and had a tensile strength almost three times that of concrete (700psi as opposed to 250psi), but less than half the density (0.98g/cm³ as opposed to 2.5g/cm³). It could be moulded into any shape, and would presumably also be much cheaper than many other raw materials that could be used. Pyke managed to convince various admirals and generals, including Lord Mountbatten, that this could be used in the construction of aircraft carriers - although, ultimately, nothing came of it. Since then, pykrete hasn't been used in any large scale construction projects, although it was considered for a quay in Oslo harbour in 1985. Pykrete was tested in a 2009 episode of MythBusters, and did indeed prove to be much stronger than ice. The MB team also tested a version called "Super Pykrete", using newspapers instead of wood shavings. This proved to be stronger still, but when they tried to build a boat out of it, it melted very quickly. Here's a picture of a slab of it: Also, you might like to see this guy putting a block of it to the test: And, last but not least, the Wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete |
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| ConfitOfDuck | May 14 2010, 09:43 PM Post #2 |
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Anything but 'Miserables'
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Do you know how heavy it is, relatively speaking? |
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| CJ | May 14 2010, 10:21 PM Post #3 |
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A very minor case of serious brain damage
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Well, its density is 0.98g/cm³, which makes it slightly lighter than water. |
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| Candyguitar | May 15 2010, 05:06 PM Post #4 |
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I initially thought it'd be a good material for submarines, but even the abyssal zone doesn't have temperatures below freezing, and it's usually the deepest part of the ocean (there is also the hadal zone, but only the deepest of ocean trenches go this far). Besides, wouldn't it be expensive to need to send them that deep, thus defeating the purpose (cost) of using it in the first place? |
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| CJ | May 15 2010, 05:14 PM Post #5 |
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A very minor case of serious brain damage
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I know it's a tough material, but I don't think it's tough enough to withstand that sort of pressure !
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| Michelle | May 25 2010, 05:50 PM Post #6 |
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What the? That's just weird.... |
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| CJ | Nov 12 2010, 11:43 AM Post #7 |
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A very minor case of serious brain damage
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Maybe I should make some with newspapers .
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| Michelle | Nov 15 2010, 06:15 PM Post #8 |
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You could if you wanted to
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| lamna | Nov 15 2010, 07:01 PM Post #9 |
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I remember the Mythbusters episode where they made a boat from frozen newspapers. Worked pretty well until it melted. |
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| CJ | Nov 15 2010, 07:09 PM Post #10 |
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A very minor case of serious brain damage
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I wish I had seen that . Mythbusters is a great show.
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| Michelle | Nov 16 2010, 02:17 AM Post #11 |
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I know, I love that show. |
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| CJ | Nov 16 2010, 02:21 AM Post #12 |
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A very minor case of serious brain damage
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Yeah - I haven't seen it for ages, though. |
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| Michelle | Nov 16 2010, 02:25 AM Post #13 |
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Next time you sit in front of the TV, see if it's on! |
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| CJ | Nov 16 2010, 02:26 AM Post #14 |
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A very minor case of serious brain damage
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Perhaps. I don't have a TV in my room, though, so I have to use things like YouTube and iPlayer. |
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| Michelle | Nov 16 2010, 02:29 AM Post #15 |
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You could see if there any episodes on Discovery Channel website |
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. Mythbusters is a great show.
8:35 AM Jul 11