Future spacecraft could be made of artificial 'bone'

Scientists have developed a new lightweight but very strong material inspired by the intricate microscopic architecture of human bones, a finding that could pave way for lighter and cheaper spacecraft.

The material, developed using a high-tech 3D printer, could help create future super-light materials that could be used in microfluidics devices or to make lighter spacecraft.

"It's a long-standing aim in engineering to create new materials which are even lighter and stronger, (but) there's some kind of limit reached with standard materials," said lead author Jens Bauer, a mechanical engineer at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

Wood and bone are porous but still very strong - and it's because of how the air pockets are arranged.
 

There's a complex architectural pattern to the bits of bone crisscrossing through all those air pockets that are designed to bear loads, 'Los Angeles Times' reported.

Researchers used a 3D laser lithography machine to build very tiny micro-structures out of a ceramic-polymer composite.

They said these light building materials were remarkably tough - they exceeded the strength to weight ratio of all engineering materials with a density less than that of water.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.