Graphene : Super New Material for Aircraft, Spacecraft

Graphene may give rise to a revolution in future aircrafts and spacecrafts.

Graphene is a material that most people are not familiar with but researchers in many countries are busy working on. It is a new material formally discovered in 2004, for which two British scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov became Nobel Physics Laureates in 2010. Its special characteristics make it possible for the production of transparent mobile phone as thin as a piece of paper, batteries able to be fully recharged in a minute, bullet-proof shirt and other science-fiction products.
For real military application, graphene is very thin and nearly transparent pure carbon one atom thick. It is remarkably strong for its very low weight, more than 100 times stronger than steel. This makes it the best materials for aircrafts and spacecrafts.
However, there is drawback: It is forbiddenly expensive, 15 times more expensive than gold. That may be a problem for the United States as it has to reduce military spending due to its huge budget deficits, but no problem for China which has an unlimited military budget.
China certainly does not grudge however great spending for this revolutionary new materials in order to achieve integrated space and air capabilities.
Sources related to the Industrial Aviation Material Research Institute of China Aviation Industry Corporation revealed to Global Times on May 27 that they have obtained the technology for mass production of graphene film and powder and successful used graphene to make an alloy of graphene and aluminum, the first such alloy in the world, with exceptional qualities for aircrafts and spacecrafts.
With exceptionally good materials such as graphene, China will develop a hypersonic aerospace bomber carrying more than 100 hypersonic missiles.
Why can an aerospace bomber carry more than 100 hypersonic missiles? Because such missiles on the bomber are flying at the hypersonic speed of Mach 22 along with the bomber.
They need no fuel for their speed but the little fuel to control them to hit their targets.
There is no defense against such hypersonic missiles in the near future.
Source: Global Times “Bare the mystery of China’s super new material that may lead to a revolution in aircrafts and spacecrafts” (summary by Chan Kai Yee)