Collaborate Disseminate
Knots are known for boosting the strength of materials, from the tiniest twists of DNA to (potentially) the very fabric of the universe. Now, Caltech engineers have developed a new material consisting of microscale knots, and shown that it’s far toughe… Continue reading Microscale knots double tensile strength of new material
Bacteria often get a bad rap, but in many cases they’re helpful little critters. Engineers have now developed a protective coating for buildings that’s loaded with bacteria, which absorb CO2 to produce a barrier against erosion by the elements.Continue… Continue reading Bacteria-based coating protects distillery buildings from the elements
Scientists at Georgia Tech have discovered a new quantum state in a quirky material. In a phenomenon never before seen in anything else, the team found that applying a magnetic field increased the material’s electrical conductivity by a billion percent… Continue reading New quantum state boosts material’s conductivity by a billion percent
Engineers at ETH Zurich have developed a versatile new material that should help in the ongoing battle against corrosion for buildings and vehicles. The polymer coating not only protects against corrosion, but highlights cracks as they form, automatica… Continue reading New anti-corrosion polymer highlights damage, self-heals and is recyclable
One factor limiting the output of today’s power stations is the metals used in the blades, bearings and seals of their steam turbines, which tend to soften and elongate well before their melting point. Solve these problems, and you could conceivably ra… Continue reading Heat-loving lightweight superalloy promises higher turbine efficiency
A team of researchers has developed a new material that’s not only elastic, but is impervious to gases and liquids – something that this kind of material is usually bad at. The material could be useful for making flexible batteries or wearable electron… Continue reading Liquid-metal-based material forms airtight seal for flexible electronics
Researchers have created a new class of robots that can shift between solid and liquid forms on demand. In a series of tests, these new bots could move and change shape to run obstacle courses, carry objects, or even escape from a jail cell like a Term… Continue reading “Robot” made of shape-shifting matter liquefies to escape jail
Neglect a modern concrete structure for a few decades and it’ll start to fall apart – and yet, structures built by the ancient Romans are still standing strong after 2,000 years. Now, engineers have found an inclusion that helps ancient concrete self-h… Continue reading Secret ingredient found to help ancient Roman concrete self-heal
Heating and cooling systems are among the biggest guzzlers of energy, contributing to a vicious cycle of climate change that then drives higher use of heating and cooling. Now engineers at Berkeley Lab have developed a new technology that heats and coo… Continue reading Ionic cooling system melts and freezes material to cycle temperature
Plastics are made to last, which is great while they’re being used but not so great after they’re discarded. Now chemists at the University of Konstanz have developed a new kind of plastic that has all the durability of regular plastic, but biodegrades… Continue reading Chemical “breaking points” let new type of plastic biodegrade in days