Nuevos materiales capaces de disipar grandes cantidades de calor, aplicados \u00a0en las superficies de objetos voladores, no provendr\u00edan de la naturaleza. Un recubrimiento superficial desarrollado a base de Nanotubos de Carbono, permitir\u00eda a las aeronaves y misiles, soportar las temperaturas extremas generadas por el vuelo en reg\u00edmenes superiores a MACH 5. Los nanotubos de carbono junto con el empleo de resinas especiales, han mostrado su potencial en diferentes aplicaciones en los \u00faltimos a\u00f1os y ahora hacen su aporte al desarrollo de sistemas hipers\u00f3nicos.<\/p>\n
A protective coating of carbon nanotubes may <\/strong>help the Pentagon field warplanes and missiles<\/a> that can survive the intense heat generated at five times the speed of\u00a0sound.<\/p>\n Researchers from Florida State University\u2019s High-Performance Materials Institute<\/a>, with funding from the U.S.<\/span> Air Force, discovered<\/a> that soaking sheets of carbon nanotubes in phenol<\/a>-based resin increases their ability to disperse heat by about one-sixth, allowing a thinner sheet to do the\u00a0job.<\/p>\n Carbon nanotubes have shown potential in a wide variety of applications in recent years, everything from space elevators <\/a>to drug delivery<\/a>. The flexible molecules, just a billionth of a meter wide, are 100 times stronger than steel but only 16 percent of the weight. The sheets also both disperse heat and insulate well.\u201cCarbon nanotubes have magnitudes higher in-plane thermal conductivity than carbon fiber,\u201d researcher Ayou Hao explained to Defense One <\/em>in an email. \u201cOnce heat reaches the carbon nanotube thermal protection layer surface, it is quickly\u00a0dispatched.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, carbon nanotubes don\u2019t exist in nature. They have to be made. The creation of new materials at the nanoscale is, technically, nanotechnology, which sounds exotic and expensive. But manufacturing processes in recent years have brought down the cost of producing carbon nanotube sheets. Multiple fabrication methods<\/a> exist today, including the use of small electrical explosions called arc flashes<\/a>, lasers,\u00a0etc.<\/p>\n \u201cRegarding accessibility of the raw materials, the price is lower and large sheets and yarns of carbon nanotube materials are available commercially,\u201d meaning that they are cheaper\u00a0 than a few years ago, said Hao. But, she added, \u201cseeking more affordable manufacturing approaches\u201d remains a\u00a0goal.<\/p>\n