Pudlite

Pudlite is a term used primarily in materials science education and in speculative fiction to denote a hypothetical lightweight, highly porous material designed to illustrate principles of density, porosity, and energy absorption. It is not a specific commercially produced material, but rather a model used in examples and exercises.

Conceptually, Pudlite is characterized by a network of pores within a lightweight matrix, enabling low density and tunable stiffness. In classroom demonstrations, porosity levels are assumed to range widely, with an elastic modulus much lower than solid equivalents, showing how porosity reduces weight while affecting strength and impact behavior.

In practical discussions, Pudlite serves as a stand-in for real porous materials such as foams or aerogels, allowing students to reason about trade-offs between density, mechanical strength, thermal insulation, and damping. When used in fiction, Pudlite may be described as having programmable porosity or unusual thermal properties, but such details remain speculative and non-operational in real-world manufacturing.

Because Pudlite is a generic model, there is no single official specification or source. When encountered, the term usually signals an illustrative discussion rather than a product data sheet. References typically point to educational resources or speculative literature rather than material catalogues.