Graphene

　　Over the past few centuries, materials engineers have been committed to developing stronger materials. Metals once led the way, and in recent decades nanomaterials have proven to be the strongest materials on Earth.

　　According to a press release issued by Rice University, “Carbyne is a chain formed by carbon atoms gathered together, with these carbon atoms connected by double bonds or alternating single and triple bonds.”

　　It is this simple structure that has proven carbyne to be more than 200 times stronger than steel and twice the tensile strength of graphene, the previous champion of nanomaterial strength.

　　“You can think of it as a graphene strip thinned to the limit, reduced in thickness to just one atom, or a nanotube thinned to the limit,” said Boris Yakobson, a professor of mechanical engineering at Rice University. “It could be useful for nanomechanical systems, as a sensor in spintronic components, as a material for strong, lightweight mechanical applications, or for energy storage.”

　　Although carbyne has already been synthesized at room temperature in the past, scientists have not yet found a way to mass-produce the material. If this breakthrough can be achieved, this new era of lightweight, strong materials will affect industries on Earth and in space.