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Tag Archives: materials science

Light dancing on glass

By Stephen Ornes / May 15, 2013

This image, taken with a powerful microscope, shows tiny, individual crystals of bismuth telluride. A new structure made from this material lets light travel easily and without interruption along its surface. Credit: A13ean/Wikipedia

New type of material lets light travel across its surface without interruption

Posted in Light & Radiation, Physics, Technology & Engineering | Tagged conductor, Cornell University, crystal, electrons, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, getinvolved, Haifa, insulator, Ithaca, Jacob Taylor, Joint Quantum Institute, light, materials science, Michal Lipson, Mordechai Segev, New York, photons, physics, superconductor, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, topological insulator, topology, University of Maryland

Building a better battery

By Sid Perkins / April 8, 2013

Researchers designed a way to make better batteries using supersmall sulfur particles coated with titanium dioxide. Credit: Seh et al., Nature Communications (2013)

Researchers develop a way to make batteries that hold more charge and don’t weaken with age

Posted in Chemistry, Computers & Electronics | Tagged Battery, Cornell University, getinvolved, lithium-sulfur battery, materials science, nanostructure, polysulfides, Stanford University; Hector Abruña, sulfur, titanium dioxide; Yi Cui, topstories

This shrimp packs a punch

By Roberta Kwok / March 27, 2013

Mantis shrimp are related to crabs and lobsters. They come in a gorgeous array of colors. Credit: Roy Caldwell

Researchers learn a lot from mantis shrimp, colorful marine creatures that possess deadly weapons and complex vision

Posted in Animals | Tagged Adaptation, Amherst, animal behavior, animal communication, animal physiology, arthropod, Baltimore County, Berkeley, biomaterials, biomimicry, cavitation, crab, crustacean, David Kisailus, exoskeleton, feature, Haptosquilla trispinosa, high-speed video, hydroxyapatite, invertebrates, lobster, mantis shrimp, marine science, materials science, oceanography, photoreceptors, praying mantis, receptors, Riverside, Roy Caldwell, Santa Catalina Island, Sheila Patek, sound, stomatopod, Tom Cronin, topstories, University of California, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts, vision

A smarter scan

By Stephen Ornes / February 5, 2013

Tiny patterns cut into this narrow copper strip filter microwaves. This new, simple technology makes it possible to take digital pictures faster, with less computer time required. And it could be used to help make airport scanners smarter, faster and cheaper. Credit: J. Hunt/Duke

Scientists introduce a cheap and smart new device that gathers data in a flash

Posted in Physics | Tagged airports, cloaking, Duke University, electromagnetic radiation, getinvolved, Houston, imaging, Imperial College, John Pendry, Kevin Kelly, materials science, metamaterials, Rice University, scanning, screening, security, technology, topstories

Science for all

By Nancy McGuire / January 9, 2013

John Holdren shares his insights into science with President Barack Obama as his science advisor. Credit: Pete Souza

STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — makes careers blossom

Posted in STEM Careers, Young Scientists | Tagged Academy Awards, Adam Duran, Big Bang Theory, Braille, camouflage paint, Chemical Pioneer Award, chemistry, computer modeling, computer models, computer science, education, engineer, feature, fluids, Harry Potter, high performance computing, John Holdren, materials science, molecules, movies, Office of Science & Technology Policy, Oscar, OSTP, Pat Teller, physics, Pirates of the Caribbean, polymers, President Obama, Robert Lochhead, Ron Fedkiw, science advisor, science technology engineering and mathematics, silicones, simulation, Stanford University, Star Wars, STEM, stereotypes, tablet, topstories, University of Michigan, University of Southern Mississippi, University of Texas at El Paso, White House

How to stop a speeding bullet

By Stephen Ornes / November 26, 2012

Scientists take a close look at a plastic that has Superman’s ability to stop a speeding bullet

Posted in Technology & Engineering | Tagged body armor, bullets, getinvolved, glass, Jae-Hwang Lee, materials science, mechanical engineering, Ned Thomas, Northwestern University, plastic, polymers, polyurethane, protection, Rice University, rubber, Space debris, topstories

Helium: Not so super after all

By Stephen Ornes / November 2, 2012

As a gas, helium glows yellow-pink when an electric current is added. Scientists recently reported that they’d made a mistake in a 2004 study that found the element was a supersolid. Turns out helium as a solid isn’t so super. Caption: Pslawinski

An exciting discovery in physics turns out to be merely a case of mistaken identity

Posted in Physics | Tagged atoms, École Normal Supérieure, energy, Eunseong Kim, friction, getinvolved, helium, materials science, matter, Moses Chan, Penn State University, physics, Sébastien Balibar, superfluids, supersolids, topstories

Color-changing robot

By Stephen Ornes / October 14, 2012

Tiny tubes filled with colored dyes let these soft robots blend in with their environments. Credit: S. Morin, Harvard University

Tiny tunnels within the “skin” of a robot allow it to blend in with or stand out from its surroundings

Posted in Technology & Engineering | Tagged chameleons, color-changing, colors, DARPA, engineering, getinvolved, Harvard University, infrared, materials science, octopus, physics, robots, soft robots, topstories, University of Cincinnati

Tiny bubbles, be gone

By Stephen Ornes / October 1, 2012

Both of these steel balls are superheated to 400 degrees Celsius (750 degrees Fahrenheit). But the one on the left has been treated with chemicals that repel water, and as a result it doesn’t produce the explosion of tiny bubbles that precede a boil, as seen on the right. Credit: Ivan Vakarelski

The right surface can determine how water boils

Posted in Chemistry | Tagged boil, bubbles, chemistry, explosions, getinvolved, Glaco Mirror Coat Zero, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, materials science, Northeastern University, states of matter, Swinburne University of Technology, University of Melbourne, water repellant, water vapor

An oil filter for water

By Stephen Ornes / September 13, 2012

A new type of filter separates water (blue) from oil (red). Credit: Gibum Kwon, Arun K. Kota and Anish Tuteja.

A new screen can separate oil and water after they’ve mingled

Posted in Chemistry | Tagged Anish Tuteja, chemical engineering, clean water, filter, getinvolved, materials science, oil, oil spill, surfactant, topstories, University of Michigan, University of Pittsburgh, water

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