The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has created a solid material that can rest on a bubble.
DARPA’s Materials with Controlled Microstructural Architecture program seeks the capability to develop materials with properties tailored to meet specific mission requirements, and MCMA researchers are working on developing a material that is as strong as steel, but as light as a plastic.
“As a global force, the U.S. military is called upon to conduct missions that subject its platforms to extreme operational environments and structural loads,” DARPA said. “The endurance and performance of future Department of Defense platforms may call for the availability of materials with structural properties that significantly surpass the limits of what is achievable with current technology.”
