Vantablack - Sapphire MCV @introtomaterialsscience--g4

Uploaded April 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

Produced by: Lili Bettolo, Brett Libowitz, Sammy Genz

According to NASA, “more than 90 percent of the light Earth-monitoring instruments gather comes from the atmosphere, overwhelming the faint signal they are trying to retrieve.”(7) Vantablack, provides potential to prevent atmospheric light from interfering with telescope images. Vantablack absorbs 99.965% of visible light, making it the worlds new darkest material (3). At this degree of darkness it is impossible to decipher when the material is folded or crumple.
The name of the material, VANTA, originates from its microstructure, meaning vertically aligned carbon nanotube array. The tubes absorb and contain background light, stopping it from reflecting back and contaminating the light being measured (7). Applications of this material vary, but may include use on space telescopes, weaponry, or cooling of other materials.
Carbon nanotubes, also referred to as CNT, are an allotrope of carbon(8). CNT is a member of the fullerene structural family which consists of molecules composed entirely of carbon in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or in this case a tube (9). The tiny hollow tubes are about 10,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair. Vantablack is a thin layer of CNT positioned vertically similar to a shag rug (7).
Although applications in fashion are tempting, human exposure risks are alarming. Recent research suggests that carbon nanotubes, especially long and thin carbon nanotubes, may be harmful if inhaled. As a result, the material is only used in highly controlled environments (6).
Our video will provide discussion on the history and background of Vantablack, followed by information regarding the structure of carbon nanotubes, and how Vantablack is made possible by their properties and processes used to create them. We will then discuss the applications of this material in areas such as space imaging, optics, and other fields. Furthermore, we will discuss the challenges surrounding the utilization of the material in relation to cost and possible human hazards. We hope our video sheds some light onto the applications and technological challenges that surround Vantablack.

Sources:
1surreynanosystems.com/news/19
3popsci.com/article/technology/new-material-darker-black-could-help-space-cameras-see-better
4sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0262407915602196
5opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?uri=oe-22-6-7290
6http://www.riskscience.umich.edu/safe-worlds-darkest-carbon-nanotube-material/
7nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/super-black-material.html
8sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090113174531.htm (Carbon nanotubes)
9sciencedaily.com/articles/f/fullerene.htm
10nytimes.com/2014/11/06/garden/what-you-can-do-with-vantablack-the-darkest-material-ever-made.html?_r=0
11re5qy4sb7x.search.serialssolutions.com/?genre=article&issn=17509637&title=Engineering%20%26%20Technology%20%2817509637%29&volume=9&issue=8&date=20140901&atitle=WORLD%27S%20DARKEST%20MATERIAL%20UNVEILED.&spage=10&sid=EBSCO:a9h&pid=%3Cauthors%3E%3C/authors%3E%3Cui%3E97599824%3C/ui%3E%3Cdate%3E20140901%3C/date%3E%3Cdb%3Ea9h%3C/db%3E
12sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0262407915602196
13sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350449512000291
14 youtube.com/watch?v=Ubk34-nFvGM
15rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2007/November/ManufacturingCarbonNanotubeMarket.asp
16geek.com/science/carbon-nanotubes-used-to-create-the-blackest-black-ever-1599202
17 annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.matsci.34.040203.114607

18 Mizuno, Kohei et al. “A Black Body Absorber from Vertically Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106.15 (2009): 6044–6047. PMC. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
19 Esconjauregui, Santiago, Caroline M. Whelan, and Karen Maex. “The Reasons Why Metals Catalyze the Nucleation and Growth of Carbon Nanotubes and Other Carbon Nanomorphologies.” Carbon 47.3 (2009): 659–669. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
20 Jung, M et al. “Growth of Carbon Nanotubes by Chemical Vapor Deposition.” Diamond and related … (2001): n. pag. Web.
21 Bakar, Suriani Abu et al. “Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon Films.” Carbon 77.June (1987): 311–320. Web.

$Titanium Implants- Nickel MCV Materials Challenge: Implants I am Titanium For centuries, humans have been searching for materials to replace damaged or failed human tissue. These tissue replacements, or implants, have included everything from bits of shell hammered into the jaw to replace missing teeth to the metal hip and knee replacements we see today. There are many unique challenges in selecting materials for implants, as in addition to having properties similar to the failed biological component the implant must repair or replace, any material used must not be toxic to the human body. Titanium is a commonly used material in implants because it is strong, durable, and bonds with bone. It is not perfect, however, the high Youngs modulus, or stiffness, of titanium can result in stress shielding where the implant bears more of the bodys load than the surrounding bone, causing the bone tissue to weaken and fracture. Our video will provide an introduction to implants by defining the term, giving a brief history of the development of implants, and giving some examples of the types of implants used today. We will then discuss the specific properties required of implants, including strength, durability and biocompatibility. We will then discuss titanium implants specifically the properties of titanium, what makes it work well for implants, as well as some of the challenges associated with the use of titanium and its alloys. We will discuss stress shielding in more detail, and demonstrate cold working a process by which the yield strength of metals can be increased without affecting the Youngs modulus. References: 1. Arsenjev, A. P.; Arsenjev, P. A.; Evdokimov, A. A.; Makaricheva, E. U.; Sheinin, M. J., The processing of surgical implants from pure titanium, Biomedical Engineering Conference, 1996., Proceedings of the 1996 Fifteenth Southern , vol., no., pp.384,385, 29-31 Mar 1996 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=493256&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fxpls%2Fabs_all.jsp%3Farnumber%3D493256 2. C.N. Elias, J.H.C. Lima, R. Valiev, and M.A. Meyers. Biomedical Uses of Titanium and its Alloys. JOM, March 2008. Pgs 46-49. http://www.meyersgroup.ucsd.edu/papers/journals/meyers%20316.pdf 3. M. Niinomi and M. Nakai, Titanium-Based Biomaterials for Preventing Stress Shielding between Implant Devices and Bone, International Journal of Biomaterials, vol. 2011, Article ID 836587, 10 pages, 2011. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbm/2011/836587/ 4. Neailey, K., and Pond, R.C. (1982). Metal implants. Materials & Design, Volume 3, Issue 3, Pages 470-478. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0261306982901133. 5. Springer Science+Business Media. (2011, July 26). Heavy metal: Titanium implant safety under scrutiny. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 5, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110725101257.htm 6. Slides from a Materials Science/Biomaterials Course; details processes, properties and uses of metallic biomaterials: http://www.bioen.utah.edu/faculty/pat/Courses/biomaterials2006/Metals%20and%20Applications%20in%20Orthopedics.pdf 7. How Its Made (YouTube clip): Titanium Dental Implants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4j_GOYFoG8 All unoriginal images were unlicensed and accessed through Wikipedia. Titanium by David Guetta ft. Sia$

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$MCV-Tellurium-ApplicationOfSteelInLowTemperatureDesalination Low-Temperature Thermal Desalination Today, water scarcity affects one in three people on every continent on the globe. Although Earth is composed of 70% water, only 3% of this is actually drinkable. Further, as the population continues to increase at a rapid pace, water scarcity continues to be a growing problem. Our group sees a large problem developing with respect to world water supply since freshwater is essential to life and its potential depletion threatens all living things on Earth. The depletion of rivers and lakes has led scientists to explore the idea of using desalination techniques to render water fresh. One of the more popular techniques that has arisen in the last decade is low-temperature thermal desalination, which our group has chosen to research for this project. This technique separates salt from ocean water by evaporating the water, leaving salt behind, then cooling the water vapor back into fresh liquid form. The key component of this process is the evaporation stage where the salt is physically separated from the water in large evaporation tanks. Most low-temperature desalination plants use stainless steel as the material that makes up evaporation tanks. Stainless steel helps prevent the evaporation tanks from corroding and helps prevent thesodium in the water from creating cracking or stress fractures in the tanks. The use of stainless steel has reduced production costs, eased maintenance, and improved efficiency of the low-temperature desalination plants since the switch from the previously used carbon steel. However, the cost of this process is a concern and stainless steel does not lower costs enough to make widespread use of low-temperature thermal desalination feasible. The overall desired property of this steel is a material combining chemical inertness and high mechanical strength to sufficiently evaporate salt-water pumped to the tank. The desired structure is a steel with relatively large amounts of chromium present which means many stainless steel components must be exposed to mechanical loads in the processing stage. But what comes along with this is a process that creates high strains inside the material and a structure with grain boundaries that are more sensitive to corrosion. This results in stress corrosion cracking in the steel that can impede the entire LTTD process. Duplex steel a stainless steel with higher amounts of chromium is made to resist corrosion, cracking, and fatigue to even a higher degree by avoiding pits with less chromium concentration. The potential use of Duplex could produce thinner shell walls and also higher resistance to corrosion and erosion, which will lead to more efficient evaporation tanks as they will hold the water vapor instead of letting it escape from the cracks created by stress. The combination of thinner walls and more efficient evaporation tanks will all lead to a more cost-efficient process that in turn may lead to the widespread use of this material and make strides toward correcting the worlds water crisis. Douglas, Elliot P. Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering: A Guided Inquiry. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Duplex Stainless Steel. - Sandvik Materials Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.http://www.smt.sandvik.com/en-us/products/tube-pipe-fittings-and-flanges/high-performance-materials/duplex-stainless-steel/ Global Water Shortage: Water Scarcity & How to Help - Page 2. The Water Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. http://thewaterproject.org/how-to-give-clean-water Introduction - Microstructures - Low Alloy Steels. Introduction - Microstructures - Low Alloy Steels. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. http://www.georgesbasement.com/Microstructures/LowAlloySteels/Introduction.htm Perkins, Sid. Better Stainless. Science News 161.7 (2002): 99. Print. Scarcity, Decade, Water for Life, 2015, UN-Water, United Nations, MDG, Water, Sanitation, Financing, Gender, IWRM, Human Right, Transboundary, Cities, Quality, Food Security. UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml Sommariva, C., History and Current Status of Material Selection in Thermal Desalination Processes. Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems.2014. Water and Wastewater Treatment Technologies. Web. 23 April 2014. http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C07/E6-144-35-00.pdf Water Scarcity. WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.http://worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity Stierle, A. MATERIALS SCIENCE: Tracking Corrosion Cracking. Science 321.5887 (2008): 349-50. Print.$