leonardwarren Chapter 148 The Secret of Bionic Spider Silk
Chapter 148 The Secret of Bionic Spider Silk
The aftershocks of the challenge have not yet subsided.
In the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, where a thousand people gathered, the eyes of 968 industry elites, technical executives, investors, and media reporters were all fixed on the incredibly thin black panel in the center of the stage.
The five challengers—female engineer Zhao Siyu using a lithium-ion drill, drone pilot Qin Kai using hydraulic shears, and others using an angle grinder, hacksaw, and chisel—all returned empty-handed. The 50 yuan in cash remains quietly in the transparent box, untouched.
"This is not scientific!"
Sitting in the third row, Wang Deming, the technical director of a drone company, repeated the sentence in a low voice. He has been in the industry for fifteen years and has worked with almost all composite materials, from carbon fiber prepreg to aramid honeycomb panels.
But he had never seen such outrageous material.
0.25 millimeters. The thickness of three sheets of A4 paper. Hydraulic pliers can't cut it, a lithium-ion drill can't penetrate it, and an angle grinder can't grind it.
This goes beyond the realm of "strong"; it's practically challenging the fundamental understanding of materials science.
"Everyone."
Su Chen's voice rang out again, pulling everyone back to reality from their shock.
He stood beside the light armor plate, his fingers gently tracing its surface. Under the light, the plate gleamed with a fine, carbon-black sheen, like the scales of some deep-sea creature.
"I know everyone has many questions. How can a 0.25mm thick sheet withstand all this? What exactly is it? What technology was used?"
Su Chen surveyed the entire room and smiled slightly.
"I will answer these questions in detail over the next fifteen minutes."
The giant screen behind him lit up, and the first slide prominently displayed four large characters:
Bionic spider silk.
"Carbon fiber composites are not a new thing."
Su Chen paced slowly, speaking at a measured pace, like a university professor giving a lecture.
"Carbon fiber was invented as early as the 1960s. Toray Industries of Japan began mass production of T300 grade carbon fiber in 1971, and the United States began large-scale application of carbon fiber in the military aviation field in the 1980s. The fuselage of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet contains a large amount of carbon fiber composite materials."
He paused for a moment, then turned to look at the slides behind him.
"By the 2020s, carbon fiber had moved from aerospace to civilian use. Sports bicycles, golf clubs, laptop casings… carbon fiber is everywhere."
At this point, Su Chen changed the subject.
"But here's the question—why, despite over sixty years of development, has carbon fiber still failed to achieve the terrifying strength of our lightweight armor, even at a thickness of only 0.25 millimeters?"
The entire room fell silent.
Wang Deming, sitting in the third row, instinctively sat up straight. This was the very question that had been puzzling him.
He had done the mental calculations—based on the tensile strength of T800 grade carbon fiber, a 0.25 mm thick one-way plate could theoretically withstand a concentrated impact force of about 200 Newtons.
But the industrial sledgehammer that burly man used just now, conservatively estimated, had an instantaneous impact force of over 3000 Newtons.
In other words, the actual strength of this lightweight armor is at least 15 times that of T800 carbon fiber.
15 times!
This number sent chills down Wang Deming's spine.
The answer lies in these four words.
Su Chen pointed to the "bionic spider silk" on the giant screen behind him.
"Everyone knows spider silk, right? It's one of the strongest fibers in nature. A single spider silk thread is only a few micrometers in diameter, but its specific strength—that is, its strength per unit weight—is more than five times that of steel, and its toughness is three times that of Kevlar."
Su Chen drew a circle in the air with his finger.
Why is spider silk so strong? Because of its microstructure. Spider silk has two regions inside: crystalline regions and amorphous regions. The crystalline regions, like tiny bricks, provide rigidity and strength; the amorphous regions, like flexible rubber bands, provide elasticity and toughness. These two regions alternate, forming a perfect structure that combines rigidity and flexibility.
He paused for a second, then forcefully uttered the next sentence:
"Our lightweight armor recreates this structure artificially within a carbon fiber composite material."
A murmur of astonishment rippled through the audience.
The giant screen switched to a schematic diagram of the microstructure. The diagram showed that between the carbon fiber layers, there was an extremely thin graphene film, and countless carbon nanotubes were embedded in the graphene film. These carbon nanotubes connected the upper and lower carbon fiber layers like bridges.
What is the biggest weakness of traditional carbon fiber composites?
Su Chen answered his own question: "It's interlayer separation. Carbon fiber itself is very strong, but the layers are bonded together by resin, and the strength of the resin is far lower than that of the carbon fiber itself. Therefore, when traditional carbon fiber sheets are subjected to impact, it's often not that the fibers break, but that the layers are peeled apart—this is called interlayer separation."
He made a tearing motion with both hands.
"It's like a book; each page is sturdy, but if you tear it too hard, the pages separate."
Many people in the audience nodded. Wang Deming even opened his mouth slightly – interlayer separation is one of the most troublesome problems in the field of carbon fiber composite materials, and it is also the fundamental bottleneck that limits the strength of thin carbon fiber sheets.
"Our solution is to implant graphene films and carbon nanotube bridging networks between the layers to form an 'interlayer prestressed locking' structure."
Su Chen pointed to the densely packed carbon nanotube bridges on the diagram.
"These carbon nanotubes act like countless tiny rivets, firmly locking each layer of carbon fiber together. At the same time, the graphene film itself possesses extremely high in-plane strength; it acts like a 'prestressed net,' creating a compressive stress state within the material similar to Rupert's Tears."
"Rupert's Tears!"
Upon hearing these four words, Wang Deming's eyes widened instantly, and he almost stood up from his chair.
A young engineer next to him asked blankly, "Mr. Wang, what is Rupert's Tears?"
Wang Deming took a deep breath and lowered his voice, saying, "Teardrop-shaped glass beads are formed when molten glass is dripped into cold water and cooled rapidly. How hard is the tip of this thing? A bullet can't break it, a 20-ton hydraulic press can't crush it, but it can even dent a steel plate!"
"That's so exaggerated?!"
"That's not an exaggeration at all. The secret of Rupert's Tears lies in the strong compressive stress layer that forms on the surface during rapid cooling, tightly locking the interior in place. This is the same principle as the 'interlayer prestressing locking' that Su Chen mentioned!"
Wang Deming's voice trembled slightly.
"So...they artificially created a 'Rupert's Tear' effect in the carbon fiber plate?!"
Su Chen on the stage seemed to hear the discussions below the stage, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
"I know there are many experts in the field of materials science here. You must be wondering—the concept of embedding graphene and carbon nanotubes between layers has been proposed in academia before, so why can't others do it?"
Su Chen held up one finger.
"The key lies in the process. Everyone can talk about the theory, but to precisely control the position and orientation of twelve layers of carbon fiber, eleven layers of graphene film, and hundreds of millions of carbon nanotube bridges within a thickness of 0.25 millimeters—this requires not ordinary hot pressing, but our independently developed 'layer-by-layer vapor deposition + pulsed hot pressing' combined process."
He pointed to the second schematic diagram that appeared on the giant screen—a strangely shaped device that looked like a miniature semiconductor wafer processing device.
"This equipment, internally codenamed the 'web weaving machine,' can grow a graphene film of precise thickness on the surface through chemical vapor deposition after each layer of carbon fiber is laid, while simultaneously growing carbon nanotubes on the film in a directional manner. Then the next layer of carbon fiber is laid, and the deposition and growth are repeated... This process is repeated twelve times."
Su Chen's voice became serious.
"Finally, using our unique pulsed hot-pressing process, all layers are cured in one go under high temperature and high pressure. At the moment of curing, the graphene film undergoes pre-stress shrinkage, which, combined with the bridging and anchoring effect of carbon nanotubes, ultimately forms a 'Rupert's Tear'-like pre-stressed locking structure within the material."
The audience was silent.
A moment later, Wang Deming led the applause, and then the entire venue erupted in thunderous applause.
"Clap clap clap clap clap..."
This applause was different from the previous ones. The previous applause was out of shock and disbelief. This time, however, it was out of genuine admiration.
Because the industry professionals present finally understood—this wasn't some mystical, cutting-edge technology; it was solid innovation in materials science and processes. Every step had a theoretical basis, and every step had an engineering implementation.
The difficulty lies not in the theory itself, but in turning the theory into reality.
And Hongyuan Flying Bird did just that.
The applause lasted for almost half a minute before gradually subsiding.
After the applause subsided, Su Chen continued:
"At this point, I'd like to add something else."
His expression turned serious.
"As everyone knows, Hongyuan Feiniao has a 'pioneering project' in the field of MEMS sensors. The core equipment of this project is DRIE—Deep Reactive Ion Etching Machine."
Mentioning DRIE elicited slight nods from many in the audience. Hongyuan Feiniao's self-developed DRIE plan has been circulating within the industry for some time now, although most people remain skeptical or even hesitant.
"The DRIE etching chamber requires a special corrosion-resistant lining material. This material must possess three characteristics simultaneously: high temperature resistance—the plasma temperature inside the chamber can reach hundreds of degrees Celsius; corrosion resistance—the chemical corrosion from alternating SF6 and C4F8 etching gases is extremely strong; and an extremely low particle release rate—any tiny particle contamination can lead to etching failure."
Su Chen surveyed the entire room.
"Currently, the mainstream DRIE equipment internationally uses imported high-purity silicon carbide or boron nitride ceramic liners. These lining materials are strictly embargoed, and we simply cannot purchase them."
He paused for a moment, then emphasized:
"Even if we could buy it, we couldn't use it. Because each equipment manufacturer has different cavity geometry parameters, the shape, thickness, and surface treatment of the liner are all custom-made. If we buy someone else's liner, it won't fit into our own designed cavity."
A murmur of discussion arose from the audience. This problem is strikingly similar to the predicament of lithography machine lenses—it's not that they can't afford them, it's that they can't buy them; and even if they could, they wouldn't be able to use them.
"And our light armor—to be precise, a high-temperature version of light armor—solves this problem precisely."
A slight smile appeared on Su Chen's lips.
"By adjusting the growth parameters of carbon nanotubes and the number of graphene film layers, we can fabricate carbon-based composite liners that are resistant to temperatures exceeding 1200 degrees Celsius and have extremely high chemical inertness. The corrosion resistance of this liner is more than three times that of traditional silicon carbide, and the particle release rate is reduced by two orders of magnitude."
"And most importantly—because our 'web weaving machine' can precisely control the deposition parameters of each layer, we can customize and manufacture a perfectly matching liner according to the shape of our designed cavity."
At this point, Su Chen took a deep breath.
"Therefore, for Hongyuan Feiniao, the Light Armor is not just a commercial product. It is also a key supporting material for our DRIE self-developed project. The commercial profits of Light Armor support DRIE's R&D funding, and the technological achievements of Light Armor are directly transformed into core components of DRIE—this is the meaning of what I said earlier about 'bearing the heavy responsibility of DRIE's funding.'"
The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause once again.
"Clap clap clap clap clap..."
This time, the applause carried a complex emotion. The industry professionals present finally understood Su Chen's strategic plan—the light armor was not an isolated product, but a key node in the entire Hongyuan Feiniao technology ecosystem.
The G1 drones are the front-line walls, the light armor is the rear supply depot, and the DRIE is the true heart.
The three elements are interconnected, forming a perfect closed loop.
As the applause subsided, Su Chen turned and walked towards the piece of light armor plate.
"Finally, I'll demonstrate something for you."
He picked up a thin, long metal probe from the table. The tip of the probe was extremely fine and gleamed coldly under the light.
"Everyone has just witnessed the strength of the light armor. But some people may be worried—this thing is so sturdy, what if it needs to be disassembled or recycled during use? It can't be stuck in place forever, can it?"
A soft chuckle rippled through the audience.
Su Chen aimed the probe at a tiny, almost invisible indentation on the edge of the board—a pre-set dissociation trigger point, marked with a color at the factory.
"Each lightweight armor plate has a pre-set release line on its edge when it leaves the factory. Simply apply precise force at the trigger point using a special probe—"
"Snap!"
With a gentle press of the probe in Su Chen's hand, the light armor plate that no tool could have touched before instantly shattered into more than a dozen regular fragments along the preset dissection line!
But the fragments didn't fly off – because the outer surface of the board was covered with a transparent nano-protective film, which held all the fragments firmly in place.
"Whoosh—!"
The entire audience erupted in uproar.
The light armor that couldn't be broken by a hammer, drilled through by an electric drill, or cut by hydraulic shears was easily dismantled by a thin probe?!
"This works on the same principle as Rupert's Tears!"
Wang Deming exclaimed again, his voice so loud that several rows around him could hear it.
"Rupert's Tear's head is indestructible, but if you crush the little tail on its tail, the entire teardrop will instantly shatter! This is because once the prestressed structure is broken at its weak point, the strain energy stored inside is released instantly, causing the entire teardrop to break apart!"
"Absolutely correct."
Su Chen smiled and nodded in Wang Deming's direction.
"We pre-install a release line on each piece of lightweight armor. The release line is an extremely fine microchannel that is normally sealed and does not affect the overall strength. However, when a special probe is inserted into the trigger point, it disrupts the sealed structure of the release line, triggering a chain reaction of prestress release, causing the entire plate to shatter into recyclable fragments along the release line."
He picked up a piece of the fragment and showed it to the camera.
"The carbon fibers and graphene in these fragments can be recycled and reused, with a recycling rate exceeding 85%. Therefore, lightweight armor is not only a high-performance material but also an environmentally friendly one."
"Clap clap clap clap clap clap..."
This time, the applause was the loudest ever.
Those present finally fully understood the product, Light Armor—its strength is 8 times that of ordinary carbon fiber sheets and 3 times that of aerospace-grade T800 carbon fiber; its thickness is only 0.25 millimeters; it has a pre-set dissociation and recycling mechanism; its technology comes from the interlayer prestress locking of biomimetic spider silk; and it is also a key supporting material for DRIE equipment.
This is not a simple "carbon fiber plate".
This is a groundbreaking technological product that could reshape the landscape of materials science.
The three DJI business representatives sitting in the corner exchanged a glance. The middle-aged man in the lead lowered his head with a serious expression and typed rapidly on his phone.
The message was sent to the Vice President of Supply Chain at DJI's Shenzhen headquarters:
"The principles behind the lightweight armor technology have been confirmed: biomimetic spider silk combined with interlayer prestressing, possessing a complete theoretical and technological chain. We recommend an immediate feasibility assessment for procurement, while simultaneously accelerating the benchmarking process for the FlightCore 2.0 carbon fiber fuselage solution. Furthermore, their DRIE plan integrates with the lightweight armor technology, demonstrating a strategic depth exceeding expectations. This matter requires the president's personal attention."
After sending the message, he looked up, his gaze complex as he looked at the spirited Su Chen on the stage.
Six months ago, Hongyuan Feiniao was just a small startup in Nanshan District, Shenzhen.
Six months later, he has already vaguely seen the prototype of a future giant.