And who says the National Laboratories are having trouble maintaining their relevance in the post-Cold War environment?
Sandia National Laboratories news release
February 15, 2006Sandia researchers develop low-density, environmentally friendly foam that may also be the answer to surf industry crisis
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a low-density, energy-absorbing foam that could provide a boost to the nation’s surfboard manufacturing market. TufFoam™ was originally conceived by Sandia for the National Nuclear Security Administration to protect electronic and mechanical structures from harsh environments. But the foam likely has other applications…
If you want to feel the rush, you have to take the risk, indeed.
Maybe they could test their new surfboards out at Bikini Atoll? 🙂
Very informative picture. Must study it more closely to determine the non-proliferation angle… 🙂
Sandia says that it is :
It is a water-blown, closed-cell, rigid polyurethane foam …
I found more description at :
http://www.ca.sandia.gov/8700/projects/content.php?cid=15
I like the picture of the little hemisphere; I assume they haven’t shown actual parts as that would be quite significant in terms of hydrodynamics.
I can’t know exactly what this foam is, but it likely involves a polyisocyanate catalyst instead of the ditoluene isocyanate which Clark Foam used.
Toxicity can be lower than TDI, but all the isocyanates are very nasty stuff. And, the reduced regulatory limitations might be due to less experience with these other chemicals – as we have seen with many solvents in the past.
I ran across the discussion by Grubby Clark a couple of months ago, and it is an interesting and controversial read :
http://surfingthemag.com/news/surfing-pulse/clark-foam-120505/
Admit it. You just did the whole item so you could post the babe poster. Still, it could be a variation of “ambiguous arsenal.”