Cathodoluminescence Used to Probe Metamaterials
The phenomenon of cathodoluminescence gave geologists an easy way to identify quartz and other minerals in rock samples. Cathodoluminescence allows a piece of quartz to…
Materials Science News
Shape-Remembering Hydrogels Made Out of Synthetic DNA
A new metamaterial created by researchers at Cornell University, is soft enough that it can flow like a liquid, but can then it can return…
“Molecular Levers” Accelerate Reactions
Researchers at Duke University found that a molecule made with a polynorbornene backbone can act as a lever to open a ring embedded within the…
Vanadium-Sapphire Device Absorbs 99.75% of Infrared Light
Using a 180-nanometer-thick layer of vanadium dioxide on top of a sheet of sapphire, researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have…
Liquid Metal Used in Ultra-Stretchable Conducting Wires
Researchers at the North Carolina State University have created conductive wires that are made out of liquid metal, with the ability to stretch eight times…
Samarium Hexoboride Behaves Like a Topological Insulator
Samarium hexoboride, a compound that had been poorly understood and that can gain conducting properties at very low temperatures, may be a topological insulator in…
Scattered Silver Cubes Scale Up Light Absorption for Solar Power
Nanoscale cubes of silver could help make more efficient solar panels, heat detectors and specialist cameras. The randomly scattered cubes were placed on pieces of…
New 3D Form of Graphene May Lead to Flexible Electronics
Graphene can support 50,000 times its own weight and can spring back into shape after being compressed by up to 80%. Graphene also has a…
Nanoparticle Blast Could Help Make Microscopic Matter
Scientists were able for the first time to capture on film a process that makes homogeneous metal oxide nanoparticles. This could pave the way for…
Nanotube-Based Fabric to Repel Chemical and Biological Agents
Scientists are working to develop a nanotube-based fabric that repels chemical and biological agents, switching reversibly from a highly breathable state to a protective one…
Flexible, Low-Voltage Circuits Made From Nanocrystals
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that nanoscale particles can be “printed” on flexible plastics to form high-performance electronics. Electronic circuits are typically…
Self-Assembling Polymer Increases Hard Drive Capacity Fivefold
Synthetic chemists have designed self-assembling polymers, which require heat in order to rearrange themselves. This technology has the potential of increasing hard drive storage capacity…
Carbon Microthreads Could Link Machines & Human Brains
In order to link human brains to computers, the interface needs to be delicate enough not to damage nerve tissue, but resilient enough to last…
Duke University Creates “Perfect” Microwave Cloak
Scientists have been able to successfully cloak an object, rendering a centimeter-scale cylinder invisible to microwaves. Many different invisibility cloaks have been demonstrated, but all…
Scientists Change the Color of Gold
Scientists in Southampton, UK, are now able to change the color of gold, which could have applications in jewelry-making and security features. The scientists published…
CuantumFuse, A Solder Paste Based on Pure Copper
With an urgent need for lead-free solder because of a worldwide effort to phase out hazardous materials in electronics, scientists at Lockheed Martin have developed…
Graphene Membranes May be Used to Filter Water & Biological Samples
Finding that large membranes engineered from single sheets of graphene allow small molecules to pass through, researchers are now looking to use the graphene membranes…
HARPES Technique Reveals Ferromagnetic Secrets of Dilute Magnetic Semiconductors
Using a new technique called HARPES, a team of scientists look to uncover the origin of the ferromagnetism in dilute magnetic semiconductors. Spintronic technology, in…