QUIET REVOLUTION.

Carbon fibres are produced by the controlled oxidation and carbonization of fine textile fibres made from a polymer called polyacrylonitrile. A key step in this Royal Aircraft Establishment process is to oxidize under tension. In the end, all that remains of the original organic macromolecules is their carbonaceous back-bones, but with the carbon atoms aligned along the original fibre axis. The filaments are normally handled in untwisted bundles called tows, containing from 3000 to 10,000 individuals. They have no hard surfaces and no resistance to compressive, bending or torsional forces. In order to be useful, they must be stuck together with synthetic resins so that all the fibres can act as a team under load. Thus CFRP joins the large class of composite materials, such as wood and glass-reinforced plastics, which consist of load-carrying fibres dispersed within a continuous matrix.