King of New Materials in the 21st Century

350Z sports car in The Fast and the Furious, The torch for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, C919 aircraft. In their construction materials, carbon fiber is included. With its excellent performance, carbon fiber continues to expand its application fields and is referred to as the "King of New Materials in the 21st Century" and "Black Gold."

In the aerospace field, carbon fiber stands out compared to conventional high-strength materials primarily made of metals due to its ability to provide strength while significantly reducing weight. For example, a 1-meter long bundle of a certain type of carbon fiber weighs only 0.5 grams, but its strength can withstand around 500 kilograms of force. A bundle of carbon fiber as thick as a finger can pull two airplanes. This unique combination of lightweight and high strength makes carbon fiber an ideal material for aerospace applications, where weight reduction is critical for improving fuel efficiency and performance.

In the marine equipment manufacturing field, carbon fiber is widely used, particularly in military shipbuilding, due to its exceptional corrosion resistance. Through various weaving techniques, carbon fiber can be combined with specific resins and other materials to create lightweight, high-strength structural components for ship hulls, masts, and bridges.

With these structural components, not only can the weight of the ship be reduced, improving its speed and maneuverability, but its tensile strength and impact resistance are also enhanced. This helps reduce seawater corrosion and the attachment of marine organisms to the ship's surface, ultimately improving the ship's operational efficiency and survivability.

In the engineering and manufacturing field, compared to stainless steel, which is commonly used in mechanical components, carbon fiber has a tensile strength approximately 10 times that of stainless steel, and its strength-to-weight ratio is about 40 times greater. However, its density is only about a quarter of that of stainless steel.

Thanks to its exceptional tensile strength, carbon fiber is now widely used in the construction of large bridges. Typically, the tensile strength of the carbon fiber used in bridge construction can exceed 3000 MPa. If high-strength carbon fiber is used, the tensile strength can be doubled. This makes carbon fiber an ideal material for creating strong, lightweight structures capable of withstanding immense loads.

In the sports and leisure field, this is one of the areas where carbon fiber was first widely commercialized. For example, golf clubs, tennis rackets, bicycle frames, and skis made from carbon fiber composites can weigh as little as 50 grams for a golf club. As people's spending power and demand for high-performance sports products continue to rise, sports equipment that enhances the user experience will increasingly gain popularity. As a result, carbon fiber sports products are expected to capture a larger share of the market.

Currently, after significant development, carbon fiber has become widely integrated into various aspects of human production and daily life. The many changes it has brought to us are still continuing to deepen.