Now a team reports pushing these lattices to their ultimate limit, generating a ceramic material that’s as strong as theorists believe to be physically possible. The material is stronger than diamond while being up to 70 percent air. … While earlier lattices were made up of cylindrical beams, the new design uses connected ceramic plates. This design makes it 639% stronger and 522% stiffer than the best beam-based lattices. In fact, it boasts the highest strength theoretically possible for any such architected materials, says Jens Bauer, a mechanical and aerospace engineer at the University of California, Irvine. Read More