The heaviest substance in the universe. Chinese scientists have created the world's lightest solid material
If you follow the latest news in the world modern technologies, then this material will not be big news for you. However, consider in more detail the most lightweight material in the world and learning a little more details is useful.
Less than a year ago, the title of the lightest material in the world was given to a material called aerographite. But this material did not manage to hold the palm for a long time; it was recently taken over by another carbon material called graphene airgel. Created by a research team from Zhejiang University's Department of Polymer Science and Technology laboratory led by Professor Gao Chao, the ultra-light graphene airgel has a density slightly lower than that of helium gas and slightly higher than that of hydrogen gas.
Aerogels, as a class of materials, were developed and produced in 1931 by engineer and chemist Samuel Stephens Kistler. Since then, scientists from various organizations have been researching and developing such materials, despite their dubious value for practical use. An airgel consisting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, called “frozen smoke” and having a density of 4 mG/cm3, lost the title of lightest material in 2011, which passed to a metal microlattice material with a density of 0.9 mG/cm3. And a year later, the title of lightest material passed to a carbon material called aerographite, whose density is 0.18 mg/cm3.
The new holder of the lightest material title, graphene airgel, created by Professor Chao's team, has a density of 0.16 mg/cm3. In order to create such a lightweight material, scientists used one of the most amazing and thin materials to date - graphene. Using their experience in creating microscopic materials such as “one-dimensional” graphene fibers and two-dimensional graphene ribbons, the team decided to add another dimension to the two dimensions of graphene and create a bulk porous graphene material.
Instead of the template manufacturing method, which uses a solvent material and is usually used to make various aerogels, the Chinese scientists used a freeze-drying method. Freeze-drying of a cooloid solution consisting of a liquid filler and graphene particles made it possible to create a carbon-based porous sponge, the shape of which almost completely followed the given shape.
“There is no need to use templates; the size and shape of the ultra-light carbon material we create depends only on the shape and size of the container,” says Professor Chao. “The amount of airgel produced depends only on the size of the container, which can have a volume measured in thousands of cubic centimeters.”
The resulting graphene airgel is an extremely strong and elastic material. It can absorb organic materials, including oil, weighing up to 900 times its own weight at a high absorption rate. One gram of airgel absorbs 68.8 grams of oil in just one second, making it an attractive material for use as an absorbent for ocean oil and petroleum products.
In addition to serving as an oil absorbent, graphene airgel has potential for use in energy storage systems, as a catalyst for certain chemical reactions, and as a filler for complex composite materials.
25.07.2015
The record holder for the lightest people who ever lived on Earth is officially recognized as Lucia Zarate, an American of Mexican origin, whose weight barely reached 2.1 kg as an adult. She is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the lightest person in the world. The reason that Lucia weighed less than an ordinary cat was not anorexia, but another disease (congenital), popularly called dwarfism.
Lucia was born in 1863. According to some information (Book of Facts, 1876 edition), it stopped growing already at 1 year. Accordingly, weight gain stopped. She first lived in Mexico, and then, as a 12-year-old girl, she moved with her parents to the United States. There, the fate of almost all people who differed in their parameters from those who are considered “normal” awaited her: she ended up in the circus. At that time, among the “respectable public” there were a lot of people who wanted to watch a “freak show” - that was the name for performances involving people with some kind of developmental disability. Lucia took part in the Fairy Sisters program and others.
When she first moved to America, her height was measured by a group of doctors trying to determine Lucia's exact age. Doctors were only able to establish that the child was definitely over 6 years old (based on the state of dental development). Her shin at that time was only 2.5 cm thicker than thumb the average person. In terms of mental development, the girl was no different from an ordinary child with average abilities; no lag was observed. Moreover, she spoke 2 languages - her native Spanish and English.
Lucia was a great success. She earned so much that she could afford a maid who went on tour with her, a personal chef who prepared special dishes, and sewed dresses from expensive materials. As she grew older, she became interested in jewelry. Except service personnel, Lucia’s family was always close to her. They took care of the girl as best they could. But they were not able to protect the fragile creature from death: one day the train on which Lucia and her family were traveling on their next tour got stuck on the way. The road was covered with snow, so much so that for several days neither equipment nor workers could clear it.
Lucia was warmed and fed, trying to keep the breath of life in her body, as light as feathers. Unfortunately, hypothermia did occur (the air temperature outside dropped to -20 °C), and it was cold in the carriages where the passengers were constantly present). Lucia died on the way. A couple of days later the tracks were cleared, and the train set off on its journey again, but without Lucia. The parents decided to bury their daughter in Mexico, their homeland. However, customs officers, who heard about the unusual girl, decided to profit from it and did not allow the parents to cross the border, demanding a ransom. The matter was settled with great difficulty, with the help of " powerful of the world this."
Chinese scientists have developed the lightest material in the world. Its weight is so small that it is easily supported on flower petals. 
The material consists of graphene oxide and lyophilized carbon. The developed spongy matter of graphene airgel weighs some 0.16 mg/cm3, which makes the substance the lightest solid material in the world. As you know, graphene has already brought the Nobel Prize to Andrei Geim and Konstantin Novoselov . 
Many more scientific discoveries will be made on the basis of this unique material. Without impurities, graphene is a two-dimensional crystal and is the thinnest man-made material on earth. It is necessary to stack 3 million sheets of graphene with each other so that the height of the stack reaches 1 millimeter. Despite its lightness, graphene extremely durable. 
One sheet as thick as a plastic bag can support the weight of an elephant. The benefits of graphene do not end there. In addition to strength and lightness, the material is quite flexible. It can be stretched by 20% without any damage. One of the latest properties of graphene identified by scientists is the ability to filter water, retaining various liquids and gases.
When you are faced with the task of learning a language, you often wonder which language is the easiest? TravelAsk decided to make a small selection.
How the easiest languages were determined
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs classifies simple languages as those that require approximately 600 hours of study. Of course, we are talking about quality ownership.
First of all, they classify the languages Germanic and Latin as light. language groups. However, German itself will be more difficult: on average, to master it sufficiently, you need to spend about 750 hours studying. The grammar here is quite complex.
But do not forget that the degree of difficulty is still individual for everyone and in most cases depends on personal motivation and interest.
English language
English is considered one of the simplest languages. Judge for yourself: its grammar is not so complicated, it has no cases or gender, and words do not need to be coordinated. And the words themselves are quite short and concise. Add to all this its widespread use: it is spoken almost everywhere. Well, the carriers in English who live in different parts of the world are completely calm about the mistakes of foreigners.
French
The French speak as if they sing, don't they? But from the outside it seems that one cannot approach him, such a pronunciation... But, according to experts, it only seems so. After all, many words in French similar to English ones. In addition, the language is very popular and is used in many places.
Spanish
Spanish is perhaps one of the easiest languages to learn. It is very similar to English, and its spelling is much simpler: I write as I hear. Many native Russian speakers who memorize vocabulary spellings from the first grade will only envy this rule)
Well, Spanish is quite popular, and its pronunciation is simple. So does grammar.
Italian language
Another language included in our rating is Italian. There are no cases, the pronunciation is quite simple, the emphasis is fixed. Well, the language itself has Latin roots, so it will be familiar to many people. It is also related to Spanish, so if you want to become a polyglot, then choosing similar languages will help you achieve your goal more quickly. short term)
Esperanto
Well, the most in simple language Esperanto is considered to be studied. Some may even be surprised by the existence of this language, but yes, it exists. And do you know why it is the simplest? Because it was developed specifically as a second language for every person, it was even called that way initially - international or language for humanity. According to various estimates, from one hundred thousand to ten million people speak it.
Esperanto grammar is very simple, there are no exceptions at all. And, of course, its undoubted advantage is that it is neutral, since it is not tied to any state. Perhaps its only drawback is that it is not as widespread as English).
Instructions
Blue whale. The blue (or blue) whale is the largest, and therefore the heaviest animal on Earth. Currently, the officially recorded maximum weight of this giant is 195 tons, but scientists claim that individual species weigh more than 200 tons! These whales reach a length of 35 meters. Scientists have also recorded the weight of some of the organs of these sea heavyweights. For example, the tongue of one captured female blue whale weighed 4.22 tons, and the heart - 698.5 kilograms. The babies of these giants are the largest babies in the world. It is curious that from the first days of life, baby whales weigh about 3 tons, reaching 7 meters in length.
The speed with which blue whales grow and develop is also amazing. During the first year of a two-ton whale's life, its weight increases 30 million times! This is considered the highest growth rate worldwide. The blue whale is not only the heaviest and largest on Earth, but also the loudest. The sounds he makes during his communication can be heard even 850 kilometers away. If you compare the blue whale with the largest land animal - the African elephant, it becomes clear that the first weighs exactly 20 times more than the second! Surprisingly, these sea giants They feed on tiny organisms: crustaceans and plankton.
Shrews. Shrews are recognized as the smallest animals and the lightest. But not all of them, of course, but only two species: the tiny shrew and the shrew (Etruscan shrew). Shrews are small mammals that resemble in appearance. In fact, they are relatives of hedgehogs, muskrats and moles. This is understandable: shrews are not rodents, but insectivores, included in the same “relatives” of the same name as all of the above. The tiny shrew is the lightest and lightest animal that lives in Russia and Transbaikalia. This baby weighs only 2 grams, and the length of its body is up to 5 centimeters.
The lightest and smallest creature on Earth is another shrew - the pygmy shrew. Its weight is no more than 2 grams, and its body length is about 3 centimeters! Due to their small size, these babies require a lot of energy, and therefore a lot of food. They feed disproportionately to their weight and cannot remain without food for more than 2 hours. The diet of the lightest vertebrates in the world consists of invertebrates, plant food. It is worth noting that not all shrews are the smallest animals on the planet. Among them there are also quite large species. For example, the world's largest shrew is considered to be the giant shrew. Her body weight is 100 grams, and her body length is 18 centimeters.
