Auto Racing: F1- carbon fibre, carbon fiber composites, high carbon steel

Question
can you tell me why carbon fibre is so strong?

Answer
Not really except that carbon is an important component in stronger steels , you may have heard of high carbon steel.

Carbon is also the black stuff that makes pencil lead black, and it's a primary element in nearly everything you can think of.   Now mixed with a high strength epoxy bonding agent and you get carbon reinforced polymers.  Like fiber glass, it adds strength to the plastic it's mixed with. Carbon fiber composites are extremely light, which is part of their appeal in building racing cars. It's also outrageously expensive. I know a single brake rotor used to cost $25,000.00 and that was 10-12 years ago !!

No I don't know why it's so strong, That would be a question for a chemical engineer, and it's a VERY complex issue.

Good luck

Dan Liddy
Sarasota, Florida