can be done by a combination of materials forming processes, such as powder pressing, extrusion (direct or conform) and flat rolling. Composite metal foam Composite metal foam is made from a combination of homogeneous hollow metal spheres with a metallic matrix surrounding the spheres. This closed-cell metal foam isolates the pockets of air within and can be made out of nearly any metal, alloy, or combination. The sphere sizes can be varied and fine-tuned per application. The mixture of air-filled hollow metal spheres and a metallic matrix provides both light weight and strength. The spheres are randomly arranged inside the material but most often resembles a simple cubic or body-centered cubic structure. CMF is made out of about 70% air and thus, weighs 70% less than an equal volume of the solid parent material. Composite metal foam is the strongest metal foam available with a 5-6 times greater strength to density ratio and over 7 times greater energy absorption capability than previous metal foams. CMF was developed at North Carolina State University by the inventor Afsaneh Rabiei with four patents in her name, all entitled "Composite Metal Foam and Method of Preparation Thereof" (US Utility Patents 9208912, 8110143, 8105696, 7641984), and CMF is currently proprietary technology owned by the company Advanced Materials Manufacturing. High speed impact/blast/ballistics testing A plate less than one inch thick has enough resistance to turn a .30-06 Springfield standard-issue M2 armor piercing bullet to dust. The test plate outperformed a solid metal plate of similar thickness, while weighing far less. Other potential applications include nuclear waste (shielding X-rays, gamma rays and neutron radiation) transfer and thermal insulation for space vehicle atmospheric re-entry, with many times the resistance to fire and heat as the plain metals. Another study testing CMF's resistance to .50 caliber rounds found that CMF could stop such rounds at less than half the weight of rolled homogeneous armor. HEI/fragment testing CMF can replace rolled steel armor with the same protection for one-third the weight. It can block fragments and the shock waves that are responsible for traumatic brain injuries (TBI). CMF was tested against blasts and fragments. The panels were tested against 23 × 152 mm high explosive incendiary rounds (as in anti-aircraft weapons) that release a high-pressure blast wave and metal fragments at speeds up to 1524 m/s. The CMF panels were able to withstand the blast and frag impacts without bowing