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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		How to build lighter weight cars without sacrificing strength
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:02
	Publish Date:		2016-10-11 19:00:00
	Description:		In an effort to reduce carbon pollution and improve fuel economy, auto manufacturers are racing to produce cars using lightweight materials without sacrificing strength. The average car has about 300 pounds worth of cabling alone. This is for electrical conductivity. Materials scientist and mechanical engineer Suveen Mathaudhu of the University of California, Riverside says most of it is made out of pricey, thick copper. "If we could get a fraction of that conductivity in aluminum it would not only be cheaper to implement, it would be lighter weight even though it will never had the conductively that copper will inherently have – and so one of the interesting things that we can do is we can use nanostructured features in aluminum to maintain the conductivity that it has while boosting the strength of the aluminum. And that provides motivation for people to start using lighter weight conductive aluminum cable versus copper cable, which now comes at a cost premium and a weight premium as well, so you’re solving two problems at once."
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