Collaborate Disseminate
Roads always seem to be in need of repair, but changing up the recipe could help them last longer. Researchers in Australia have now shown yet another advantage of adding rubber from old tires to asphalt – extra Sun protection that could help roads las… Continue reading Recycled tires make for roads that last twice as long in hot sunshine
It’s an unfortunate truth that many important chemical reactions require rare and expensive metals as catalysts. But now, scientists have developed a device that actively tweaks plain old aluminum to make it behave like other metals on the fly.Continue… Continue reading “Catalytic condenser” lets cheap metals act like rare, expensive ones
Inspired by seashells, scientists at Sandia National Laboratories have engineered a versatile new material that’s incredibly inexpensive, strong, lightweight, and heat resistant. The material could find use in shielding for spacecraft or fusion facilit… Continue reading Seashell-inspired material makes for strong, light spacecraft shielding
Researchers in Japan have shown that a common material is excellent at storing and releasing heat, which could make it useful for recycling industrial waste heat. The material exchanges water with the air, allowing it to quickly absorb or release heat…. Continue reading Common material stores and releases waste heat energy on demand
There are a lot of ways that stresses can show up, at least when discussing materials science. Cracks in concrete are a common enough example, but any catastrophic failure in …read more Continue reading Stresses Revealed With A Polariscope
A team of engineers led by Alon Gorodetsky at the University of California, Irvine, has come up with a new infrared-reflecting, metalized polymer film inspired by the color-changing skin of the squid. The tunable insulating properties of the composite … Continue reading Squid skin inspires versatile new “tunable” insulating material
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a new shock-absorbing material that is super lightweight, yet offers the protection of metal. The stuff could make for helmets, armor and vehicle parts that are lighter, stronger and, importantly, … Continue reading New shock-absorbing material as strong as metal but light as foam
A shortage of drinking water is a key problem in many parts of the world, and it’s a cruel irony that huge amounts are floating around in the air, inaccessible. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have now developed a salty hydrogel that c… Continue reading Salty hydrogel sucks liters of drinking water a day out of thin air
Weight is often a key consideration for scientists pushing the boundaries of bullet-proof materials, imagining armor that keeps the wearer safe while also improving their mobility. Engineers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have now forged a new … Continue reading Lightweight armor material made of nanotube mats outperforms Kevlar
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a strange new nanocrystal material that can switch between gel and liquid states in response to temperature or other triggers. This could be used to make light filters or even active therm… Continue reading State-switching nanocrystal gel makes for cooling or thermal camouflage