The carbon matrix in the image, reinforced with carbon fibers that appear as dark spots and strands, was deposited using a technique known as chemical vapor infiltration. The material is used to make brakes for large machines such as bullet trains, airplanes, and rocket parts. Few countries, however, are capable of producing it on an industrial scale. In the laboratory, scientists from Brazil’s Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) achieved the feat. “Unfortunately, the energy cost was very high and aerospace companies are not interested, so we did not continue,” says Inacio Regiani. Produced in 2015, the material can be seen up close with great clarity in this photograph, magnified 100 times, thanks to improvements to the microscope that made the lighting more powerful.
Image submitted by ITA mechanical engineer Inacio Regiani, who worked in partnership with João Jorge Souza dos Santos
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