So, we have established that Carbon is a light element, and carbon (graphite) fibers are typically made using the polyacrylonitrile process.
Some of the physical properties of carbon fiber are:
High tensile and compressive strengths, up to five times that of steel
High modulus or stiffness, twice as stiff as steel
Low density, one-third the weight of steel
High chemical resistance
High temperature tolerance
Low thermal expansion
Electrical conductivity
Black color
#Carbon #carbonfiber
Take note of that last one, it's black, so to quote Henry Ford:
"Any customer can have a car painted any color he wants so long as it is black.".
This picture was taken by a Scanning Electron Microscope and shows, at high magnification, what an individual carbon fiber looks like, so in future episodes we'll discuss how we turn this rather dull image into the gorgeous carbon fiber parts we're used to seeing. 😁