On: Why Your Next iPhone Won't Be Ceramic

[laurentdc]

This. Drop a MacBook (or any other aluminum gadget) and it's bent out of shape forever.

Good plastic (glass-fiber or carbon-fiber reinforced) is generally... plastic.

[wlesieutre → laurentdc]

If that's a materials pun, it's actually the opposite. A dent that bounces back to its original shape is elastic. Plastic deformation is the metal phone that stays dented after the force is removed.

[laurentdc → wlesieutre]

Right! Took physics way too long ago.

[adrianratnapala → laurentdc]

Err, it seems that the complaint here is that aluminium deforms plastically while plastic deforms elastically.

This is why English is fun.

[notJim → laurentdc]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi :)

[awqrre → laurentdc]

Couldn't you reinforce aluminum with glass-fiber too (or carbon-fiber)?

[ridgeguy → awqrre]

You can. Here's one company that does (ceramic) fiber reinforced aluminum.

http://specmaterials.com/fra.html

There's lots of research literature on carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum.

[kpil → awqrre]

I guess you could try to make a composite steel-aluminium material, as the steel has a yield point and will take the load when stretched. But I doubt it will work good for compression.