Materials Science
Scientists moving 15-ton magnet from N.Y. to Chicago
June 17, 2013 6:20 pm | by Frank Eltman, Associated Press | News | Comments
Scientists on Long Island are preparing to move a 50-foot-wide electromagnet 3,200 miles over land and sea to its new home at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois. The trip, starting at Brookhaven National Laboratory, is expected to take more than a month.
New type of nanosheet offers fast pollutant degradation
June 17, 2013 6:56 pm | News | Comments
Waste from textile and paint industries often contains organic dyes such as methylene...
Polymer-coated catalyst protects "artificial leaf"
June 17, 2013 6:42 pm | News | Comments
Electrolysis is often used to produce hydrogen that can be used for a storable fuel....
Scientists moving 15-ton magnet from N.Y. to Chicago
June 17, 2013 6:20 pm | by Frank Eltman, Associated Press | News | Comments
Scientists on Long Island are preparing to move a 50-foot-wide electromagnet 3,200...
Printing artificial bone
June 17, 2013 10:23 am | by Denise Brehm, Civil and Environmental Engineering | News | CommentsResearchers working to design new materials that are durable, lightweight and environmentally sustainable are increasingly looking to bone for inspiration. While researchers have come up with hierarchical structures in the design of new materials, going from a computer model to the production of physical artifacts has been a persistent challenge. Now researchers have developed an approach that allows them to turn their designs into reality.
Scientists capture crystallization of materials in nanoseconds
June 13, 2013 10:16 am | News | CommentsLawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers, for the first time, have created movies of irreversible reactions that occur too rapidly to capture with conventional microscopy. The team used multiframe, nanosecond-scale imaging in the dynamic transmission electron microscope to create movies of the crystallization of phase-change materials used for optical and resistive memory.
Detecting homemade explosives, not toothpaste
June 13, 2013 7:52 am | News | CommentsSandia National Laboratories researchers want airports, border checkpoints and others to detect homemade explosives made with hydrogen peroxide without nabbing people whose toothpaste happens to contain peroxide. That’s part of the challenge faced in developing a portable sensor to detect a common homemade explosive called a FOx mixture, made by mixing hydrogen peroxide with fuels.
Moon radiation findings may reduce health risks to astronauts
June 11, 2013 3:55 pm | News | CommentsSpace scientists from the Univ. of New Hampshire and the Southwest Research Institute report that data gathered by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show lighter materials like plastics provide effective shielding against the radiation hazards faced by astronauts during extended space travel. The finding could help reduce health risks to humans on future missions into deep space.
Mismatched materials can be tough enough
June 11, 2013 8:20 am | News | CommentsRice Univ. researchers have for the first time detailed the molecular mechanism that makes a particular combination of cement and polymer glue so tough. The theoretical research led to a fine picture of how hydrogen bonds control the properties of hybrid organic-inorganic materials. The finding has implications for understanding the interface bonding that is often a roadblock to improved composite properties.
Micro-RNA plays role in wood formation
June 11, 2013 8:10 am | News | CommentsFor more than a decade, scientists have suspected that hairpin-shaped chains of micro-RNA regulate wood formation inside plant cells. Now, scientists at North Carolina State Univ. have found the first example and mapped out key relationships that control the process. The research describes how one strand of micro-RNA reduced by more than 20% the formation of lignin, which gives wood its strength.
New family of quasicrystals discovered
June 11, 2013 7:29 am | News | CommentsScientists at Ames Laboratory have discovered a new family of rare-earth quasicrystals using an algorithm they developed to help pinpoint them. Quasicrystalline materials may be found close to crystalline phases that contain similar atomic motifs, called crystalline approximants. And just like fishing experts know how to hook a big catch, the scientists used their knowledge to hone in on the right spot for their discovery.
Catalyst could jumpstart e-cars, green energy
June 4, 2013 1:08 pm | News | CommentsLos Alamos National Laboratory scientists have designed a new type of nanostructured-carbon-based catalyst that could pave the way for reliable, economical next-generation batteries and alkaline fuel cells, providing for practical use of wind- and solar-powered electricity, as well as enhanced hybrid electric vehicles.
Long-lasting ancient concrete had a small carbon footprint
June 4, 2013 12:55 pm | News | CommentsAt the Advanced Light Source, scientists analyzed samples from a Roman breakwater that has been submerged in the Bay of Naples for over two millennia, revealing the secrets of crystal chemistry that allow Roman seawater concrete to resist chemical attack and wave action for centuries. The manufacture of extraordinarily durable Roman maritime concrete released much less carbon than most modern concrete does today.
Scientists create novel silicon electrodes to improve lithium-ion batteries
June 4, 2013 7:55 am | News | CommentsStanford Univ. scientists have dramatically improved the performance of lithium-ion batteries by creating novel electrodes made of silicon and conducting polymer hydrogel, a spongy material similar to that used in contact lenses and other household products. The scientists developed a new technique for producing low-cost, silicon-based batteries with potential applications for a wide range of electrical devices.
Fine-tuning emissions from quantum dots
June 3, 2013 7:42 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsTiny particles of matter called quantum dots, which emit light with exceptionally pure and bright colors, have found a prominent role as biological markers. In addition, they are realizing their potential in computer and television screens, and have promise in solid-state lighting. New research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology could now make these quantum dots even more efficient at delivering precisely tuned colors of light.
Even with defects, graphene is strongest material in the world
May 31, 2013 1:57 pm | News | CommentsIn a recently published study, Columbia University researchers have demonstrated that graphene, even if stitched together from many small crystalline grains, is almost as strong as graphene in its perfect crystalline form. This work resolves a contradiction between theoretical simulations, which predicted that grain boundaries can be strong, and earlier experiments, which indicated that they were much weaker than the perfect lattice.
Water-rock reaction may provide enough hydrogen to sustain life on Mars
May 30, 2013 1:27 pm | News | CommentsAccording to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder, a chemical reaction between iron-containing minerals and water may produce enough hydrogen "food" to sustain microbial communities living in pores and cracks within the enormous volume of rock below the ocean floor and parts of the continents.
Researchers use weightlessness of space to design better materials
May 30, 2013 11:10 am | News | CommentsResearchers from Northeastern University are among the many scientists helping NASA use the weightlessness of space to design stronger materials here on Earth. Researchers say by observing the solidification process in a microgravity environment—in this case, the International Space Station—they were able to study how this morphological instability develops in three dimensions to shape the structure of materials on a micron scale.
A new kind of chemical glue
May 30, 2013 7:36 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsOver the past three decades, researchers have found various applications of a method for attaching molecules to gold; the approach uses chemicals called thiols to bind the materials together. But while this technique has led to useful devices for electronics, sensing and nanotechnology, it has limitations. Now, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology team has found a new material that could overcome many of these limitations.
Advanced paper: The foundation for inexpensive biomedical devices
May 28, 2013 3:24 pm | News | CommentsPaper is known for its ability to absorb liquids, making it ideal for products such as paper towels. But by modifying the underlying network of cellulose fibers, etching off surface “fluff” and applying a thin chemical coating, researchers have created a new type of paper that repels a wide variety of liquids—including water and oil.
How do cold ions slide?
May 28, 2013 7:47 am | News | CommentsWhen an object slides on another, the advancement may occur through a “stop and go” series in the characteristic manner which scientists call "stick-slip", a pervasive phenomenon at every scale. Researchers in Italy have studied and gained on the conditions in which, at the nanoscopic level, the switch from smooth sliding to stick-slip regime occurs, simulating the “toy-like” systems of “cold ions”.
The formula for turning cement into metal
May 28, 2013 7:27 am | News | CommentsIn a move that would make the alchemists of King Arthur’s time green with envy, scientists have unraveled the formula for turning liquid cement into liquid metal. This makes cement a semiconductor and opens up its use in the profitable consumer electronics marketplace for thin films, protective coatings, and computer chips.
Iron-platinum alloys show promise for next-generation hard drives
May 21, 2013 9:56 am | News | CommentsMeeting the demand for more data storage in smaller volumes means using materials made up of ever-smaller magnets, or nanomagnets. One promising material for a potential new generation of recording media is an alloy of iron and platinum with an ordered crystal structure.
Soft matter offers way to study arrangement of ordered materials
May 21, 2013 7:46 am | News | CommentsA fried breakfast food popular in Spain provided the inspiration for the development of doughnut-shaped droplets that may provide scientists with a new approach for studying fundamental issues in physics, mathematics, and materials. The doughnut-shaped droplets, a shape known as toroidal, are formed from two dissimilar liquids using a simple rotating stage and an injection needle.
Research shows defects in twin boundaries that strengthen materials
May 20, 2013 9:11 am | News | CommentsThrough experiments and simulations, a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have found that twin boundaries with good electrical conductivity and a strengthening mechanism in materials may not be so perfect after all.
Insights into how materials transfer heat could lead to improved electronics
May 16, 2013 10:50 am | News | CommentsUniversity of Toronto engineering researchers, working with colleagues from Carnegie Mellon University, have published new insights into how materials transfer heat, which could lead eventually to smaller, more powerful electronic devices.
Scientists discover new uses for tiny carbon nanotubes
May 15, 2013 7:25 am | News | CommentsThe atom-sized world of carbon nanotubes holds great promise for a future demanding smaller and faster electronic components. The challenge has been figuring out how to incorporate all of these nanotubes' great properties into useful electronic devices. A new discovery by four scientists at the University of California, Riverside has brought us closer to the goal.
New insight into early growth of solid thin-films
May 14, 2013 10:07 am | News | CommentsThin films sometimes grow layer by layer, each layer one atom thick, while in other cases atoms deposited onto a surface form 3D islands that grow, impinge, and coalesce into a continuous film. Scientists have traditionally assumed that the islands are homogeneous and coalesce at roughly the same time. In a recent study, researchers have discovered that the process is more dynamic than suggested by the traditional view.
Physicists light “magnetic fire” to reveal energy's path
May 13, 2013 3:27 pm | News | CommentsResearch on bursts of energy within magnetic systems dates back two decades. But scientists haven't been able to measure and understand what prompts this phenomenon, known as "magnetic deflagration." New York University physicists have uncovered how energy is released and dispersed in magnetic materials in a process akin to the spread of forest fires.
