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Old 12-15-2008, 11:15 AM   #5 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CapriRacer View Post
One of the quirks of nature is that most metals have the same strength-density. That is for a given weight, the breaking strength is the same regardless of the material. So while aluminum is lighter, it is also less strong, so more of it has to be used.
This is definitely not true.

Mild carbon steel has a tensile strength of ~500 MPa (73 000 psi) for a density of ~7,9 g/cm^3. On the other hand, pure Titanium (not even alloyed) with a density of 4,5 g/cm^3 has a tensile strength of 434 MPa. It has 87% of the strength of mild steel for 56% of its weight and heat treated aluminum can have more than 60% of the strength of steel for 30% of its weight.
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