A metal developed by a team of researchers from University of California at Irvine, HRL Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology is shown resting on a dandelion fluff without damaging it.

With a density of 0.9 mg/cc, the metal, which is about 100 times lighter than styrofoam, is the world's lightest
material. The scientists were able to make a material that consists of 99.99% air by designing the 0.01% solid at
 the nanometre, micron and millimetre scales, the 'Science' reported in its latest issue.

'The trick is to fabricate a lattice of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness 1,000 times thinner
than a human hair,' said lead scientist Tobias Schaedler of HRL.