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Last night I had a dream. I dreamed of a great bridge that spanned two peaks shaped like the Devil's Tower. The bridge was a single beam-like structure, black in color, but reflective like volcanic glass. It spanned a distance of many miles, and in my dream I thought "There is no substance strong enough to span this distance that would not collapse under its own weight." So I asked myself, "What material would be strong enough to support this span?"

The answer came into my head: "Pre-stressed carbon nanotubes in a diamond matrix." What I am asking all you engineers and scientists on Poal (stop laughing -- there may be a handful of you) is this:

Is a composite composed of pre-stressed nanotubes in a diamond matrix possible? Would it yield the strength that would allow a beam miles long to span the distance between two mountain peaks?

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, we do much of our construction using pre-stressed concrete. This is concrete that contains steel rods that have been pre-stretched before the concrete is poured around them, then allowed to relax, which puts pressure on the concrete, holding it together. Pre-stressed concrete beams are much stronger than common comcrete beams would be and can support much greater loads.

I was able to find on carbon nanotube reinforcement of composits, but there was nothing in this chapter about a diamond matrix. Is it possible? Would it greatly increase the load-bearing strength of a beam made from it?

Last night I had a dream. I dreamed of a great bridge that spanned two peaks shaped like the Devil's Tower. The bridge was a single beam-like structure, black in color, but reflective like volcanic glass. It spanned a distance of many miles, and in my dream I thought "There is no substance strong enough to span this distance that would not collapse under its own weight." So I asked myself, "What material would be strong enough to support this span?" The answer came into my head: "Pre-stressed carbon nanotubes in a diamond matrix." What I am asking all you engineers and scientists on Poal (stop laughing -- there may be a handful of you) is this: Is a composite composed of pre-stressed nanotubes in a diamond matrix possible? Would it yield the strength that would allow a beam miles long to span the distance between two mountain peaks? For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, we do much of our construction using pre-stressed concrete. This is concrete that contains steel rods that have been pre-stretched before the concrete is poured around them, then allowed to relax, which puts pressure on the concrete, holding it together. Pre-stressed concrete beams are much stronger than common comcrete beams would be and can support much greater loads. I was able to find [this](https://www.intechopen.com/books/diamond-and-carbon-composites-and-nanocomposites/carbon-nanotube-cnt-reinforced-metal-matrix-bulk-composites-manufacturing-and-evaluation) on carbon nanotube reinforcement of composits, but there was nothing in this chapter about a diamond matrix. Is it possible? Would it greatly increase the load-bearing strength of a beam made from it?

(post is archived)

[–] 7 pts

Such strong material doesn't exist (yet?) otherwise Elon Musk would probably try to create a space elevator.

[–] 1 pt

No, it doesn't exist. Even the nanotubes don't really exist, because nobody can make them longer than a fraction of an inch, and they would have to be continuous for much longer than that.

[–] 3 pts (edited )

No, it doesn't exist

That's exactly what I said, but I'm pretty sure that with advanced ML/AI, we'll eventually be able to create new materials. The main issue here is the production cost. If it's not worth it, they will not spend money on it, or we would have batteries with capacities over months.