Materials Testing
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Feb 24 | News
Chemists in Finland have made new polymer-stabilized silver nanoparticles that they say significantly reduce the exposure to silver encountered by those who use silver’s ability to neutralize microbial contaminants, for example in colloidal silver water filters. Though silver’s health benefits are well known, the long-term exposure effects of small amounts of the toxin are not entirely understood.
Feb 24 | News
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that, under the right conditions, nanocrystalline materials—like those found in some integrated circuits—exhibit surprising activity in the tiny spaces between the geometric clusters of atoms called nanocrystals, from which they are made. This has implications for those who use thin films or manufacture MEMS.
Feb 16 | Featured Articles
Premature failure of manufactured components is a continual problem in today’s high-paced manufacturing environment, in which emphasis is placed on taking a product rapidly to market and manufacturing that product quickly and cost effectively.
Feb 8 | News
Scientists had long suspected that electricity could trigger freezing in supercooled water. But the materials to test this theory didn’t exist. Using pyroelectric material, however, researchers in Israel have demonstrated the ability to freeze water by manipulating charge, even causing water to freeze by heating the material next to it.
Jan 19 | News
When a crab grasps a tiny snail that lives near hydrothermal vents, it must sometimes grip it for days before breaking the tough, try-layered shell. Researchers examining the species since its discovery in 2003 note that the thick organic middle layer helps dissipate the energy of crab pincers, and perhaps also the tremendous heat of ocean-floor vents.
Jan 14 | News
Gold’s non-toxic nature had led to much experimentation with nanostructures made from this metal. But until recent efforts by NIST scientists, there were no guidelines as to how nanoparticle size would affect interactions with proteins. These observations of behavior may help designers produce predictable effects in potential medical applications.
Jan 13 | News
The late 19th century discovery of radioactivity sparked a medical wonder craze that led to radioactive toothpaste, suppositories and makeup. The Revigator, which restored the original freshness to water by adding radioactivity, was particularly infamous. NIST researchers set about testing both the claims and dangers of these radium-charged products.
Jan 12 | News
Lead paint and melamine-tainted milk—infamously hazardous products from China—have grabbed the headlines in recent years. But another metal, cadmium, has caught the eye of regulators as the easy-to-work but cancer-causing metal has begun appearing in metallic toys and jewelry.
Jan 12 | News
In ski sports, split seconds are often the deciding factor in a race. So the choice of wax mixture—the surface interface with the snow—is often crucial to the outcome. Hence, some high technology solutions at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, such a ski tribometer that is able to test many varieties of wax on a given type of snow.
Jan 8 | News
In ancient mythological times reflective surfaces like shiny metals and mirrors were thought to be magical and credited with the ability to look into the future. NASA is using mirrors to do just the opposite—look into the past.