Cleveland Inventions: High-Performance Carbon Fibers Change Everyday Products

Native Native Roger Roger stumbled bled bled billion-dollar billion-dollar with with with of high-performance carbon carbon carbon 1958. 1958. an experiment an experiment observe the triple point of graphite — bringing the material to a temperature and pressure where solid, liquid and gaseous states occur simultaneously to see how the material reacts — Bacon noticed whiskers forming that were up to 1 inch in length and one-tenth the diameter of human hair.

The so-called whiskers that Bacon happened upon were strands of perfect graphite, and, within a few years, the U.S. Air Force began supporting the research of carbon fibers, recognizing their vast potential in a new generation of aircraft structures due to their tolerance and lack of conduction of heat.

Why It Matters: That Airforce-funded research paid off, and carbon fibers remain a key component in military aircraft parts, such as the fuselage frame and aircraft doors. You will also find the name of the material slapped on a multitude of everyday sports gear like lightweight tennis rackets and golf clubs.