A new kind of steel, inspired by the structure of bone, could go a long way toward making our buildings stronger and saving money. This material is stronger than what we have now, and it might even be able to heal its own cracks.
To create a stronger kind of steel, scientists thought about the design of bones, which are lightweight but (thankfully) don’t crack that easily. This is because, internally, bones are structured like a lattice, with all these different patterns and connections that can resist different forms of pressure being put on them. (This feature is called “hierarchical microstructure.”) So, the researchers engineered steel to be designed in a similar way, according to a study published today in the journal Science.
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