THE CHEMISTRY BEHIND CARBON FIBER
- Has an atomic structure similar to graphite's
- Made up of sheets of carbon organized in hexagonal patterns (different than graphite's atomic structure due to how the sheets are connected)
- Carbon fiber has a complex design of fibers that are then bathed in epoxy resin to give the material is characteristics
- Each strand contains 3,000-12,000 carbon fibers
- The sheets of carbon fiber are randomly folded, or crumbled together
- While graphite's structure stacks the material parallel to one another
- There is more than one way carbon fiber can be structured
- It depends on the use and whether it needs to be really strong and stiff or flexible