Buckypaper
In case you were living under a rock (like I am), you may not have read this article on buckypaper.
Bucky paper is a composite made of carbon nanotubes and epoxy. It is lighter than steel and is extremely electrically and thermally conductive. Some researchers at Florida State may actually be onto a way to make the production of this material commercially viable.
In the article, they talk about the first potential uses being in electromagnetic shielding, normally done now with copper. In the long run, a potential use would be as airplane hulls. This would be an awesome use. There is a lot of research being done on how to properly protect airplanes from lightning strikes. Lightning tends to follow the path of least resistance. Most airplanes fuselages are made from aluminum because it's light. However, it doesn't tend to conduct as well as copper, which is what the electrical systems usually use. If an airplane is hit by lightning, there's a real chance that the lightning could flow through the electrical system rather than through the fuselage. This had bad implications for anyone trying to fly an airplane (like, none of your systems will work after that).
Of course, there is tons of engineering that goes into ensuring that doesn't happen. Airplanes have ways to dissipate static, paths designed into the planes to keep electricity away from electrical systems and fuel tanks, and electrical systems are not attached to the fuselage. The last loss of commercial plane for this reason was over 40 years ago because of the introduction of these systems.
However, it would make things much more convenient for the designers of these systems if the fuselage could be made from a material that is as conductive as copper. If the resistivity of your materials in your electrical system and fuselage are the same, the resistance to electrical flow ends up being a matter of geometry.
A large area will have a lower resistance and a longer length will have a higher resistance. This means that though the fuselage will probably have a longer path than the electrical system, it has vastly more area. Therefore, the resistance will be lower. That, of course, makes it easier to keep the electricity on the outside of the plane and away from areas that could cause potential problems.
And, if we're all lucky, this means the planes will be lighter, and we'll have to worry less about the weight of our baggage. That's the long shot.
Bucky paper is a composite made of carbon nanotubes and epoxy. It is lighter than steel and is extremely electrically and thermally conductive. Some researchers at Florida State may actually be onto a way to make the production of this material commercially viable.
In the article, they talk about the first potential uses being in electromagnetic shielding, normally done now with copper. In the long run, a potential use would be as airplane hulls. This would be an awesome use. There is a lot of research being done on how to properly protect airplanes from lightning strikes. Lightning tends to follow the path of least resistance. Most airplanes fuselages are made from aluminum because it's light. However, it doesn't tend to conduct as well as copper, which is what the electrical systems usually use. If an airplane is hit by lightning, there's a real chance that the lightning could flow through the electrical system rather than through the fuselage. This had bad implications for anyone trying to fly an airplane (like, none of your systems will work after that).
Of course, there is tons of engineering that goes into ensuring that doesn't happen. Airplanes have ways to dissipate static, paths designed into the planes to keep electricity away from electrical systems and fuel tanks, and electrical systems are not attached to the fuselage. The last loss of commercial plane for this reason was over 40 years ago because of the introduction of these systems.
However, it would make things much more convenient for the designers of these systems if the fuselage could be made from a material that is as conductive as copper. If the resistivity of your materials in your electrical system and fuselage are the same, the resistance to electrical flow ends up being a matter of geometry.
A large area will have a lower resistance and a longer length will have a higher resistance. This means that though the fuselage will probably have a longer path than the electrical system, it has vastly more area. Therefore, the resistance will be lower. That, of course, makes it easier to keep the electricity on the outside of the plane and away from areas that could cause potential problems.
And, if we're all lucky, this means the planes will be lighter, and we'll have to worry less about the weight of our baggage. That's the long shot.