The press release they linked to explains how it would be used for other applications: “This discovery means that the fibrous structures found in limpet teeth could be mimicked and used in high-performance engineering applications such as Formula 1 racing cars, the hulls of boats and aircraft structures. I'd encourage you guys to read the press release as well. It talks about how size is a factor a little more clearly--it seems that the limpet teeth are not stronger as a result of their size, but because of their composition and shape. The "secret to their strength" has very little to do with their size. Also, it doesn't have the same commentors as the Washington Post, so that's a plus.Limpets need high strength teeth to rasp over rock surfaces and remove algae for feeding when the tide is in. We discovered that the fibres of goethite are just the right size to make up a resilient composite structure.
Well, yes and no. Large-scale structures don't matter a much when you're dealing with microscopic planes. That's the bugabear of carbon nanotubes, which make limpet teeth look like day-old spaghetti - 5 GPa ain't no joke but nanotubes come in at 63 GPa. Problem is, organizing materials that are almost entirely dependent on arrangement for strength is easy when you're working at micron scales. When you're trying to make a fishing rod out of it, things change. That's why 55cm of the stuff warrants a press release.
Yeah, that's why I'm skeptical of the claims that they can apply this discovery to things as large as F1 Race cars. We've been hearing claims about what graphene could potentially accomplish for years now, but a large problem remains in cost-efficient manufacturing (although I'm sure there are other factors I'm unaware of).
GoethiteGoethite is an iron oxyhydroxide containing ferric iron. It is the main component of rust and bog iron ore. Goethite's hardness ranges from 5.0 to 5.5 on the Mohs Scale, and its specific gravity varies from 3.3 to 4.3. The mineral forms prismatic needle-like crystals ("needle iron ore"), but is more typically massive.
The mineral being needle like means the creature doesn't need to 'sharpen' its teeth. They come sharp as a property of the mineral structure. Very interesting.
It's amazing to me that some of the most powerful things known to man are those that are found in nature. kingmudsy brings up a good point with the composition of the teeth, I would love to see a composition chart of this to compare it to things that we already know a lot about.