Miniature Truss Work
May 28, 2014
Credit: Credit: L. Meza, L. Montemayor, N. Clarke, J. Greer/Caltech
Fancy Erector Set? Nope. The elaborate fractal structure shown below is many, many times smaller than that and is certainly not child's play. It is the latest example of what Julia Greer, professor of materials science and mechanics, calls a fractal nanotruss—nano because the structures are made up of members that are as thin as five nanometers (five billionths of a meter); truss because they are carefully architected structures that might one day be used in structural engineering materials. Read more.
