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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Foam Corps"
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(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
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"FOAM"-MENTING A REVOLUTION... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. FOAM: SHAVING CREAM; BUBBLE BATH; WHIPPED CREAM; "OCEANS WHITE WITH FOAM". IT MAY BE HARD TO IMAGINE THAT A BUMPER MADE OF FOAM COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE; IT MIGHT, IF IT WERE A NEW-GENERATION METAL FOAM--DEVELOPED BY PROFESSOR AFSANEH RABIEI AND HER TEAM AT N-C STATE. THEIR FIVE-YEAR MISSION HAS CREATED A NEW FOAM-COMPOSITE MATERIAL THAT'S MAKING AN IMPACT--BECAUSE OF ITS IMPACT-RESISTANCE, AND ITS EXTREME-LIGHT WEIGHT. THERE ARE TWO INNOVATIONS THAT MAKE THIS NEW METAL FOAM SUPERIOR TO OTHERS: FIRST, EACH CELL--OR BUBBLE--IS THE SAME SIZE; SECOND, EACH OF THE CELL-WALLS IS SUPPORTED BY A METALLIC MATRIX, FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AND IMPACT-ABSORPTION. WHAT BETTER WAY TO PUT IT TO THE TEST, THAN TO CRASH A CAR AT 28 MILES-PER-HOUR, WITH TWO PIECES OF THE COMPOSITE UNDERNEATH THE BUMPER? CAREFUL MEASUREMENT OF THE IMPACT THAT WOULD BE FELT BY THE PASSENGERS SHOWED THAT A 28-MILE-PER-HOUR CRASH WOULD FEEL LIKE ONLY A FIVE-MILE-PER-HOUR FENDER-BENDER. THE MATERIAL WEIGHS THREE TIMES LESS THAN BULK STEEL; IT'S BOTH STRONG AND LIGHT--AND IT ABSORBS IMPACT. EXPECT TO SEE IT BEING USED FOR CARS, BOATS, ARMOR, TRAINS--EVEN MEDICAL DEVICES. IT'S DEFINITELY A CASE OF "FOAM" OVER FUNCTION. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
