The new building and insulating material made of volcanic tuff.
A team of Polish scientists at the University of Technology in Krakow has discovered that volcanic stone can be used as insulating material due to the fact that is very resistant to heat and can be used also as a cheap and natural building material.
The Polish researchers say that the traditional materials used in building, can be replaced with this artificial stone made of volcanic tuff, alkaline solutions and water.
The mix produces an inorganic geopolymer which is almost as hard as the granite.
In the world we can find many other types of polymers, but none of these can withstand heat in the same way.
This new material of volcanic origin is so strong that can resist even if we have a fire inside the house and temperatures reach levels of 800 or 900 degrees Celsius because its strength increases with the increasing temperature.
This new building material can successfully replace the traditional building materials, and can also replace the polystyrene foam which is used as an insulation material for walls.
The new material has a porous structure, which is very good because it allows the wall to breathe, it absorbs water and smells, and this way the wall is not able to develop mold because humidity is regulated by the structure of the wall.
Another use of the new volcanic material is in coating for metals in order to prevent corrosion, and because it can withstand high temperatures, it can be used to cover the elements of a spacecraft.