“Metallic Wood” Has the Strength of Titanium and the Density of Water

Titanium is as strong as steel but about twice as light. These properties depend on the way a metal's atoms are stacked, but random defects that arise in the manufacturing process mean that these materials are only a fraction as strong as they theoretically could be. An architect, working on the scale of individual atoms, could design and build new materials that have even better strength-to-weight ratios.