Poly Acrylic Nitrile Nano Fibers

This is pretty interesting.

This is a thinner version of fiber than carbon fiber, with a different composition and more amorphous than crystalline which due to how it's extracted is tougher and stronger than carbon fiber. Being less brittle it lasts longer, meaning you can also use less of it to do the same job, meaning lighter and stronger body panels or weight bearing parts in cars and airplanes and body armor (big whoop. Stop starting wars and you won't need body armor). This would also make for lighter frames in motorcycles and scooters and bicycles. Strong enough to last and tough enough not to shatter when you hit a bump hard.

The problem I see with this is amorphous chemicals contain energy and will eventually lose that, gaining crystal structure. See that in really old glass, particularly volcanic glass, which will then cost it strength and toughness. This means in time, things made of of this will suddenly break, and with carbon fiber type substances: at the worst possible time, under max load, when the operator really NEEDS it to work. That's a reason to stick to steel bikes, btw. The steel is self healing, at the crystal level. They spontaneously reform their crystals after being stressed most of the time. This is why steel springs last a very long time, if not unduly stressed.

This material was invented in 2005, and its being used in DNA/medical research, materials like structural car panels and armor, and in lithium batteries as an insulator. Considering we're short on lithium that only really benefits rich people, cellphones and laptops. I'm still holding out for Thermite batteries. I think that's the way forward. Everybody could have one. But that's a materials problem for another day. This material will make ultralight cars. If it can be made cheap enough and in mass quantities, we could have the dream of the 900 pound 50 HP ultralight car, one that keeps the rain off and allows you to commute on a gallon of fuel per week. We can name it the AlGore, in dishonor of that buffoon important contributor to confusion over awareness of global warming. Sigh. If only he'd explained that warming started 19,500 years ago and was continuing today instead of insisting it was recent and caused by man. The science says otherwise. If he'd stopped playing to Haters and did science? He might have won over the community instead of doing what libs do best: DIVIDE everyone. This is why Green policies always lose the vote. They're always splitting and fighting among themselves instead of looking at the big picture: preserve and protect nature for the future. The Boy Scout in me cringes every time AlGore opens his mouth. A car named for him should be a gross polluter that's underpowered and gutless and falls apart at the worst time, is unreliable, and full of hot air. Like him.