A new super-material?

[lynnl]

I'm having trouble visualizing a bunch of bike thieves sitting around all over town or campus, drumming their fingers as they wait for that lye to eat through those locks. They could walk to their destination quicker. ....But I guess they're a lazy bunch.

[PStechPaul]

I saw this in a "New Atlas" email.

At some point, though, a frustrated would-be thief might just use his bolt cutters, grinders, and other weapons to destroy the bicycle.

[nickel-city-fab]

At least we will always have petroleum jelly.

-D

A man has to have.... priorities.

[nickel-city-fab]

...in an "aluminum foam"

So just what acid will dissolve aluminum?

Actually the fact that they are currently using aluminum makes me wonder what it would be like with Ti6 Al4 v (titanium...)

[JRouche]

Water jet? JR

[Astronowanabe]

Water jet? JR

article claims convex ceramic spheres causes jet to diverge two orders of magnitude if I recall correctly (not recalling over what depth)

[Bob La Londe]

So lye! A small bottle of lye and there goes your bike chain. ... and door. ... and whatever.

You just need the right thing to "cut" it.

Sounds like just another advertising balloon. A flag up the flagpole and nobody is saluting.

Of course it works on aluminum that has chipped welded into your fancy Alu-Power endmills too. If you got the mill out of the cut before it broke you can 100% recover it.

[J Tiers]

So lye! A small bottle of lye and there goes your bike chain. ... and door. ... and whatever.

You just need the right thing to "cut" it.

Sounds like just another advertising balloon. A flag up the flagpole and nobody is saluting.

You might want to try it before you get excited about that "small bottle".

Just take a look at the reaction involved, and figure the number of mols of lye required for a given mass of aluminum........... It might surprise you.

[macona]

Oh, just rub some gallium on the aluminum. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRW2r-ao5vg

[JRouche]

article claims convex ceramic spheres causes jet to diverge two orders of magnitude if I recall correctly (not recalling over what depth)

Oh, well that wont work JR

[Richard P Wilson]

Why don't they send all of us a free sample? We'll soon tell them how it can be cut!

[754]

Loaded up alloy on end mills..., easy.., just a few drops of Tellus 32 on the cutter and work and off it comes .. i have it around, its my spindle and way lube..

[Paul Alciatore]

My point was that if hack saws and abrasive wheels do not cut it, there probably is something that will.

And they will put an easily pick-able lock on the ends of that chain. Have you ever looked at any of the vast number of internet videos that show just how easy most locks are to pick open.

For whatever reason, thieves seem to be clever. Some do it just for the joy of proving that they can. You can make it a bit difficult to steal a bike or a car or whatever, but if someone is determined, they will. If lye is too slow, they will come up with something that is faster. That you can believe.

[I make chips]

I read the title and seeing bicycle I knew it was a college project and someone wants to be published to get his masters. Yup I'm right on that point.
Ceramic blah blah can't cut it yada yada. One whack with a hammer and it'll shatter.

[nickel-city-fab]

I read the title and seeing bicycle I knew it was a college project and someone wants to be published to get his masters. Yup I'm right on that point.
Ceramic blah blah can't cut it yada yada. One whack with a hammer and it'll shatter.

Yeah if it was big enough. But its ceramic micro spheres bedded in an aluminum sponge.

My bet is on the electricians conduit saw at work. Turns out he has a special circular saw blade, with carbide tips that is made just for cutting conduit. Bet that would cut it.