This teeny-tiny lattice is smaller than a water droplet, but it's unbelievably strong.
Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology made the honeycombs out of carbon, which they claim are the smallest human-built lattices ever constructed. They describe the work in a study published February 1 in Nature Materials.
To make them, the researchers first zapped a pattern into some carbon with lasers, hardening the rough design.
Then they baked the lattice without oxygen to lock the honeycomb structures in place:
Next came the strength tests.
The lattices shouldered more pressure than there is at the bottom of the Mariana Trench — 36,000 feet below sea level — before they crumpled.
These incredibly small, extremely strong lattices could be used in electronics as conductors, or in industry as chemical filters.
But for now, they're just an awesome (and really cool-looking) accomplishment in the lab.
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