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Core77 - Blog • Feb. 9, 2026, 3:15 p.m.
Next-Gen Composite Materials: Using Flax Rather than Carbon Fiber
For centuries, human beings have added strands of material to other materials in order to strengthen them. In the Middle Ages, workers discovered that adding horsehair to lime plaster prevented it from cracking.
The strands of hair, taken from a horse's mane or tail, act like a miniature version of rebar. The technique is still used today.
In the 20th century, with their Shell Chair, the Eameses put glass fiber reinforced plastic on the map. The strong, lightweight material could be molded into compound curves that bent plywood couldn't.
The strands of hair, taken from a horse's mane or tail, act like a miniature version of rebar. The technique is still used today.
In the 20th century, with their Shell Chair, the Eameses put glass fiber reinforced plastic on the map. The strong, lightweight material could be molded into compound curves that bent plywood couldn't.
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