A new image has been released from an American laboratory showing how strong the world's lightest metal is.
It may appear delicate as the material is so light it can balance on a dandelion, but it can also hold the weight of three apples.
The material can handle a strain exceeding 50% in compression tests and still return to its original shape and 98% of its height once the load is removed.
Researchers say the material is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and has "extraordinarily high energy absorption" properties.
Created by HRL Laboratories in collaboration with researchers at Caltech and UC Irvine, it's purported for aerospace structural components.
The substance is made out of tiny hollow metallic tubes arranged into a micro-lattice - a criss-crossing diagonal pattern with small open spaces between the tubes.
According to Popular Science, "Researchers exposed a light sensitive liquid to UV light through a patterned mask, which created a three-dimensional photopolymer lattice. They then deposited a layer of nickel-phosphorous onto the polymer lattice, which was then etched."
Potential uses include next-generation batteries and shock absorbers. For more info head here.
Images Rex/ Dan Little Photography and HRL Laboratories
