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▲ silverFork 3 days ago

Ok stronger but doesn't it melt.. What are they going to do with it?

▲patall 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Ice roads would be one application. Once it freezes, usual ferry services can often no longer be upheld. Then, one has to wait until the ice is thick enough to drive a car over the ice. If there was an easily applicable material to drive on ice less than usual 15-20cm of ice, that would decrease that waiting time quite a bit (and make ice roads/bridges possible in locations that would previously be unsuitable). And since it is ice, you can grow it somewhere else and transport in place with a barge.

Another is underground tunnel building. In sandy places, there are cases where they freeze the ground when building a concrete structure. If that could be reinforced with stronger ice, it might make working easier.

Similar, you can use ice as an temporary scaffold when e.g building a spanning bridge in winter. Stronger ice => easier application of said scaffold.

▲hn_throwaway_99 2 hours ago | parent [-]

This sounds like a Rube Goldberg machine if I've ever heard one, for the nichest of niche applications.

▲patall an hour ago | parent [-]

I am pretty sure that 99.9% of material science covers very niche applications

▲mkotlikov 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

"The intended application isn't for aircraft carriers this time, but rather for construction projects in remote, cold areas where conventional building methods aren't easy to apply – like the Arctic and Antarctic.

With no concrete or steel required, and with ice and plant-based cellulose as the main ingredients, this could be a building material with a low carbon footprint that's also biodegradable."

▲ 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]
[deleted]
▲EA-3167 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Climate change feels like a grim reaper slowly stalking the value proposition of this technology.

▲zomiaen 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Potentially becomes more viable in some locations. Or a future ice age.

▲jazzyjackson 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Maybe we’ll be building ice caves on other planets after all

▲peder 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Or maybe Mars?

▲moi2388 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Exactly what I wanted. A biodegradable building. I’m making mine out of compost!

▲raisedbyninjas 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

"Further down the line, this approach could open up a whole new landscape for materials used in packaging, construction, and more: Using a custom protein to bring two unlikely compounds (ice and cellulose) together."

▲ginko 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Habakkuk

▲m463 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

warmer igloos obviously. :)

▲blitzar 6 hours ago | parent [-]

igloo skyscrapers