\▐hwis-kәr\ n [singular of whiskers mustache, fr. 2 whisk] (ca. 1600) A colloquial term used for nearly perfect, single-crystal fibers produced synthetically under controlled conditions from inorganic materials such as aluminum oxide, beryllium oxide, boron, boron carbide, graphite, magnesium oxide, metals, quartz, silicon carbide, and silicon nitride. They range in diameter from 0.5 to 30 μm, and in length from 1 μm to several mm. Whiskers are available as loose fibers, mats, and felts. Having tensile strengths and moduli from 5 to 10 times those of glass, they impart extremely high strength and stiffness to reinforced-plastics structures. (Murphy, J., Reinforced Plastics Handbook, Elsevier Science and Technology Books, New York, 1998)
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Gooch, J.W. (2011). Whiskers. In: Gooch, J.W. (eds) Encyclopedic Dictionary of Polymers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6247-8_12813
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