What is ABS a material made by NASA?
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Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene\n\nAcrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS, (chemical formula (C8H8· C4H6·C3H3N)x) is a common thermoplastic used to make light, rigid, molded products such as pipes, golf club heads (used for its good shock absorbance), automotive body parts, enclosures, protective head gear, and toys including LEGO bricks. It is a copolymer made by polymerizing styrene and acrylonitrile in the presence of polybutadiene. The proportions can vary from 15% to 35% acrylonitrile, 5% to 30% butadiene and 40% to 60% styrene. The result is a long chain of polybutadiene criss-crossed with shorter chains of poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile). The nitrile groups from neighbouring chains, being polar, attract each other and bind the chains together, making ABS stronger than pure polystyrene. The styrene gives the plastic a shiny, impervious surface. The butadiene, a rubbery substance, provides resilience even at low temperatures. ABS can be used between −25 °C and 60 °C.\n\nProduction of 1 kg of ABS requires the equivalent of about 2 kg of oil for raw materials and energy. The largest producer of ABS resin in the world is Chi Mei Corporation of Taiwan.\n\n[edit]\nSynthesis of ABS\nAcrylonitrile butadiene styrene can be found as a graft copolymer, in which styrene-acrylonitrile polymer is formed in a polymerization system in the presence of polybutadiene rubber latex; the final product is a complex mixture consisting of styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, a graft polymer of styrene-acrylonitrile and polybutadiene and some unchanged polybutadiene rubber. There are, therefore, many variables to the process besides the different positions of the starting materials, so this technique is capable of producing polymers with a much wider range of properties. [Brighton et al. 1979] ABS can be made by blending, the technique involved mechanical blending by mixing a butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber with styrene-acrylonitrile resins, the process is being carried out under such conditions that the two polymers underwent some grafting. This technique is rather limited and has been largely suppressed by chemical process. [Brighton et al. 1979]\n\n\n\n\n[edit]\nProperties of ABS\nABS is derived from acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene. Where acrylonitrile are synthetic monomers produced from propylene and ammonia; butadiene is a petroleum hydrocarbon obtained from butane; and styrene monomers, derived from coal, are commercially obtained from benzene and ethylene from coal. The advantage of ABS is that this material combines the strength and rigidity of the acrylonitrile and styrene polymers with the toughness of the polybutadiene rubber. The most amazing mechanical properties of ABS are resistance and toughness. A variety of modifications can be made to improve impact resistance, toughness, and heat resistance. For instance, the impact resistance can be amplified by increasing the proportions of polybutadiene in the relation to the styrene and acrylonitrile although this is following by changes in other properties. Impact resistance does not fall off rapidly at lower temperatures. Stability under load is excellent with limited loads. Even though ABS plastics are used largely for mechanical purposes, they also have good electrical properties that are fairly constant over a wide range of frequencies. These properties are little affected by temperature and atmospheric humidity in the acceptable operating range of temperatures. [Harper, 1975] The final properties will be influenced to some extent by the conditions under which the material is processed to the final product; for example, molding at a high temperature improves the gloss and heat resistance of the product whereas the highest impact resistance and strength are obtained by molding at low temperature. ABS polymers are resistant to aqueous acids, alkalis, concentrated hydrochloric and phosphoric acids, alcohols and animal, vegetable and mineral oils, but they are swollen by glacial a
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Try this \nsite:http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Metal_NanoBumps_Could_Improve_Artificial_Body_Parts.html
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Scientists believe that the outer core is a liquid made out of an iron-nickle alloy, and the inner core is a liquid that behaves like a solid, and is mostly made out of iron.
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Most boards at the minute are made of 5 or 7 ply Canadian Maple. which is pressed into shape and given a concave for added strenght, and then coated to give it a smooth finish,\n\nas for the future. i have to agree ^^^^^^ Carbon fibre is amazing, but at this moment in time, its hella expensive!
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A NASA official has denied a claim made by a book author that blueprints for the mighty Saturn 5 rocket used to push Apollo astronauts to the moon were lost. \n\nThe denial came in response to a recent story in SPACE.com that reported on a claim John Lewis made in his 1996 book, Mining the Sky, that he went looking for the Saturn 5 blueprints a few years ago and concluded, incredibly, they had been "lost."\n\nPaul Shawcross, from NASA's Office of Inspector General, came to the agency's defense in comments published on CCNet -- a scholarly electronic newsletter covering the threat of asteroids and comets. Shawcross said the Saturn 5 blueprints are held at the Marshall Space Flight Center on microfilm.
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Not enough information provided. The density of any carbon fiber product is based apon the requirements of the product and its use. The amount of polymer to fiber ratio is based on that information.
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NASA launched the STEREO shuttle at the end of last month to gather data on the sun. I watched the entire count down and lift off. It was very educational. That baby flew at speeds exceeding 10000 meters per second. They had some weather problems and the launch got held back about 20 minutes, but when it launched it was really worth it. The next launch is on December 7th and I highly reccomend watching it. Its better than most of the crap on television!
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http://www.nasa.com\nsee this
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The physics involved in space shuttle launch has actually been around for about 300 years.  It's just an application of Newton's 2nd Law of Motion.  What hasn't been around is rocket fuel, computers, and the materials used in space shuttle construction.
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Not sure if this will help but take a look at this site\nhttp://history.nasa.gov/retfpub.pdf\n(you will need Adobe to view it)
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They don't have a working reusable spacecraft. They designed and built a crude copy of our shuttle (theirs was called "Buran"), but it never flew and today is rusting away in some park somewhere.
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A and C.\n\nThere was a factory that made C in nevada.  after the shuttle disaster in 86, nasa never bothered to tell them to stop making it.  there was a big explosion at the plant.  it was leveled.
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Do you see any high performance airplanes  or centrifuge rotors made of plastic instead of titanium?  I think you just answered your question. . .\n\nThat is a little glib, because tensile strength is only one mechnaical property (specific strength, hardness, etc). Stiffness is another reason titantium is popular.  Pure titanium has tensile strengths from 250 to 750 MPa. Ti alloys go up to 1250 MPa. \n\nIf you really only care about tensile strength in **one direction** then there are materials. Heat treatment of carbon fibers can generate tensile strengths as high as 5650 MPa.  Such fibers can be part of a plastic composite and nearly all of them will be less dense than titanium. Molecular weight is ill defined in such compounds and probably not what you meant.
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Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
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Very detailed and very complex.  The shuttle was built by a multitude of contractors, so each contractor had their own technical drawings, but all these drawings and assemblies had to meet the specification of NASA.
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For the exterior, it is aluminum. However, multiple metals are used for the interior/engine etc., like titanium.