World's Lightest Material Invented

Researchers say it's constructed like a mini Eiffel Tower.

Introducing: the world’s lightest material. Or at least, possibly the lowest-density material. Researchers at the United States’ Defense Advanced Research Project Agency have developed a new, ultra-light material made of nickel that is essentially a lattice of hollow tubes. Each wall of the microlattice has a thickness of 100 nanometeres, which is about 1/1000th of a human hair. It is 99.99 per cent air in volume and is 1000 times less dense than water. It's so light, in fact, that images have surfaced of the material sitting on top of a dandelion. The microlattice was created by using lasers and resin, and may someday be useful for absorbing sound, vibration, and shock. When squashed, it also rebounds most of the way, giving it an elastic property that could make it very useful for something so light it makes Styrofoam look like Chris Christie.