Collaborate Disseminate
After decades of physics-based theorizing, researchers have succeeded in creating a novel optical metamaterial using conventional materials. Its enhanced electromagnetic effect may make true one-way glass a reality and solar panels more efficient.Conti… Continue reading Novel optical metamaterial may make true one-way glass a reality
Researchers have developed a battery-free sensor that reacts to sound waves, such as particular spoken words, producing enough vibrational energy to power an electronic device. The novel sensor would not only reduce battery waste but could also power m… Continue reading Battery-free sensor harnesses the power of speech
Complex behaviors can arise from simple mechanics, and that’s demonstrated by a block of rubber that acts as a counter. The block contains beams, and by controlling how the block …read more Continue reading This Block of Rubber Can Count To Ten
Engineers at the University of Minnesota have developed a new system that can move objects without making physical contact. The technique involves ultrasound waves acting on specialized surfaces to push or even pull objects in different directions, whi… Continue reading Ultrasound metasurfaces move large objects without touching them
“Optical tweezers” – systems that focus light to trap and manipulate individual atoms – could pave the way for powerful quantum devices, but they can be a little cumbersome. Researchers have now developed a simplified, smaller design for optical tweeze… Continue reading Nanopillared lenses let scientists trap individual atoms with light
If you’ve got a mechatronic project in mind, a 3D printer can be a big help. Gears, levers, adapters, enclosures — if you can dream it up, a 3D printer …read more Continue reading 3D-Printing Complex Sensors and Controls with Metamaterials
Optical microscopes depend on light, of course, but they are also limited by that same light. Typically, anything under 200 nanometers just blurs together because of the wavelength of the …read more Continue reading Optical Microscope Resolves Down to 40 Nanometers
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a great tool for diagnosing disease in different organs and tissues, but it can be costly and cumbersome. Now, engineers at the Boston University Photonics Center have developed a new device, small enough f… Continue reading Magnetic metamaterial amplifies MRI for clearer images in less time
If you have had trouble with ordinary calculus, you may not be pleased to hear about “photonic calculus” — a recent idea from [Nader Engheta] of the University of Pennsylvania. The idea is that materials with certain properties could manipulate an electromagnetic wave in a way to solve a specific …read more
Continue reading Swiss Cheese Metamaterial is an Analog Computer
3D printers are great for creating static objects, but if you’re clever, it’s possible to print a functional devices. If you’re absolutely brilliant you can go far beyond that, which is the case here. This door handle with a key-code lock does it all with 3D printing using mechanism designs that look like alien technology. This is just one application of a much more interesting mechanical digital logic they’re developing (PDF).
Working from the [Hasso-Plattner-Institut], the research team is focusing on metamaterials as mechanisms in and of themselves. The crux of this lock is a series of bistable springs that …read more
Continue reading 3D Printed Key-Code is Plastic Digital Logic