The Nanotech BC Blog: Hierarchical Systems and Natural Strength

One of the unexpected benefits of nanotechnology is that it is making us appreciate the amazing sophistication of naturally evolved materials. You may not have thought much of it the last time your arm was in a cast, but bone is one of the most remarkable materials in nature, combining strength and resilience with a range of biological functions.

Bone is the scaffold of most life on earth and the secret to its success lies at the nanoscale. Nanowerk has a fascinating article on the molecular properties of bone and how they use hierarchies of flexible and strong components to build up a material that's able to absorb huge amounts of stress without failure.

In biology, universality generates robustness, while diversity enables optimality. Materials like bone, being a nano-composite of strong but brittle and soft but ductile materials, illustrate this unification of components with disparate properties within a hierarchical structure.

Nature's toolbox begins with nanotechnology. By slowly unraveling the molecular structures of natural materials like bones, researchers are learning principals that can be applied to human-made materials in order to make them stronger, lighter and more efficient.