What was the tough material shown on Tomorrows World in the late 80s?

[freepizza]

Hi all,

I have search far and wide for this answer and could not find it.

During the late 80's and early 90's Carbon 60 or Buckminsterfullerene & Graphene(I think) were a hot topic. In BBC's tomorrows world they demonstrated a safe made out of a material, which I think was one of those two but cannot be sure. The texture of the safe was a slight lumpy surface and black in colour.

- This safe was Dropped from 20-30 stories high,
- Drilled until the bits wore out the bit down to the chuck almost.
- A heavy duty concrete disk cutter was worn right down to the last remaining blade part.
- And not a scratch on the safe.
- Then put into a furnace of 11000 degrees C for 6 hours.

After all this the safe was opened and the paper documents inside were in one piece.

I want to find out more about this can anyone help? Or is there a video clip of this out there somewhere.

Many Thanks.

 

[Achy47]

Hello,

Thank you for your question. It is intriguing that you remember this demonstration from BBC's Tomorrow's World. Carbon 60 and graphene were indeed hot topics in the late 80's and early 90's, and there were many exciting potential applications being explored for these materials.

Based on your description, it is likely that the safe you saw in the demonstration was made from a composite material containing carbon 60 or graphene. These materials have unique properties that make them incredibly strong and resistant to damage, even under extreme conditions like those you described.

In terms of finding more information or a video clip of this demonstration, I would recommend reaching out to the BBC directly. They may have archives of their past episodes and could potentially provide you with more information or a video clip of the demonstration. Additionally, there may be scientific research papers or articles discussing the use of carbon 60 or graphene in composite materials for security purposes.

I hope this helps. Good luck in your search!