Organic Chemistry has only three elements viz Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. How nature manipulates these three elements to offer mankind innumerable such products, which are coherently and incoherently embedded in everything around us. It is only in Textiles now for the first time that the importance of these three as individual elements is being exploited to render products, which will shape the world around us.
Whether individually or compounded with a resin, each of these will form the basis of High Technology in the coming years.
Du Pont was the only company, which kept investing into Life Sciences products and exploited symmetrically the carbon chains bonded with other elements to make unique products, whether it was polyesters or fluropolymers.
When I first learnt about Carbon fibres at University, I could never relate anything around me which was made out of these fibres. It was therefore thought to be a impractical technology. But after 25 years, it has suddenly taken the world by a storm.
Look at aircraft engines, car bodies, wind mills, sports equipment's, helmets and wherever weight is an issue.
It is only another 5 years, when I see that almost all machines will be 50% composite by weight and most of it will be simply carbon fibre. And the biggest breakthrough will happen , when the transmission gears, cams and belting etc gets converted to a carbon composite.
Imagine your huge Ring Frame of 1080 spindles will not weigh more then 100 kgs, with carbon body, carbon spindles, carbon drafting systems and in place of aprons and cots, the carbon nano tubes. Further imagine the traveler will not slide on the ring, but will have magelev drive to have speeds beyond imagination. The Dyeing machine of 2 tons capacity will weigh less then 100 kgs with carbon laminate body. A complete sulzer weaving machine with carbon body, carbon healds, carbon take up beams will weigh less then 100 kgs and in all the above cases, the power consumption will be fraction of what is it now.
The simplest solutions will come in Civil Engineering, where a house can built with carbon laminates, windows, doors etc within few hours and the roofing will be from ETFE film. All you need is to take with you one roll of ETFE film to a disaster zone, put in some carbon rods and cover it up with ETFE film and your house is ready. Further, if the ETFE film is embedded with silicon solar cells, then use your lap top and if you know, how to manipulate frequencies, set up a free internet connection and stream with the world.
Invest into your carbon composites now or be left behind. It is time to seriously study carbon fibre and its downstream.
Whether individually or compounded with a resin, each of these will form the basis of High Technology in the coming years.
Du Pont was the only company, which kept investing into Life Sciences products and exploited symmetrically the carbon chains bonded with other elements to make unique products, whether it was polyesters or fluropolymers.
When I first learnt about Carbon fibres at University, I could never relate anything around me which was made out of these fibres. It was therefore thought to be a impractical technology. But after 25 years, it has suddenly taken the world by a storm.
Look at aircraft engines, car bodies, wind mills, sports equipment's, helmets and wherever weight is an issue.
Imagine your huge Ring Frame of 1080 spindles will not weigh more then 100 kgs, with carbon body, carbon spindles, carbon drafting systems and in place of aprons and cots, the carbon nano tubes. Further imagine the traveler will not slide on the ring, but will have magelev drive to have speeds beyond imagination. The Dyeing machine of 2 tons capacity will weigh less then 100 kgs with carbon laminate body. A complete sulzer weaving machine with carbon body, carbon healds, carbon take up beams will weigh less then 100 kgs and in all the above cases, the power consumption will be fraction of what is it now.
The simplest solutions will come in Civil Engineering, where a house can built with carbon laminates, windows, doors etc within few hours and the roofing will be from ETFE film. All you need is to take with you one roll of ETFE film to a disaster zone, put in some carbon rods and cover it up with ETFE film and your house is ready. Further, if the ETFE film is embedded with silicon solar cells, then use your lap top and if you know, how to manipulate frequencies, set up a free internet connection and stream with the world.
