Experts Created An Uncuttable Material, Stronger Than Diamond But Lighter Than Steel

Even with the best locks in the world, an intruder with proper tools can still get inside your house. But now when experts from the Fraunhofer Institute and Durham University came up with a synthetic uncuttable material that cannot be cut, thieves might want to think again before attempting a burglar.

The experts said the uncuttable material, called Proteus, was so tough any tool that tries to slice into it will be destroyed.

The toughest natural materials are sapphire and diamond and their durability comes from the atomic bonds’ dense lattice. Only when you have the proper tool, which also made out of diamond, that you can cut or fracture these two materials.

However, the scientists who made Proteus were inspired by something totally different, seashells.

Proteus is made up of a flexible cellular aluminum structure with ceramic spheres on the inside, which means its density is 15% that of steel.

Seashells also have a similar composition with soft organic structure and calcium carbonate inside. In this way, claws and teeth sunk into the shells will be blunted, so will tools that try to cut through Proteus.

However, this doesn’t mean the uncuttable material is indestructible. It can be damaged but it will damage the tools slicing it more.

The experts have tried to pierce through it using drills and angle grinders. As you can see from the video down below, a grinder was reduced down to just a stub when trying to slice the material.

The mechanism here is while the outer shell will give way to the cutting tool, the inner ceramic sphere inside vibrates and grinds away the cutting edge of the tool until it can no longer cut.

When the cutting sphere is worn, particles released from it harden in the aluminum and help slow down the progress.

For now, the most promising applications of this uncuttable material are protective gear, locks, and safes.

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