Advances in materials technology have a huge impact on improvements in science and technology. Whether it's the latest wonder material, such as graphene, or uncovering the secrets to the longevity of ancient Roman concrete, material science is the reason so much of our technology is more than the sum of its parts.
To make concrete more environmentally friendly, the industry has been adding by-products from coal-fired power plants, but doing so had its own problems. Now, Rice researchers have developed a new composite binder that requires no cement, and reduce waste from power plants at the same time.
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It was back in April that we heard about how scientists had made concrete stronger and more eco-friendly by adding graphene to it. Now, researchers at Lancaster University are reporting that they've achieved even better results using cheaper "nano platelets" derived from root vegetable fibers.
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Those little packets of silica gel that come in everything from your shoeboxes to burrito packets are the gold standard for fending off fungal growth and moisture. But scientists have now developed a material they claim to absorb twice as much.
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Sometimes, people want to clean up polluted water, by removing spilled oil from its surface. Other times, they want to purify oil-based fuel, by removing water from it. An inexpensive new "smart" membrane created at Canada's University of British Columbia can switch between doing both.
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Researchers have developed a self-healing material that could help machines repair themselves – even after “extreme mechanical damage.” Not only does the material make physical repairs, but in doing so it can restore severed electrical connections.
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Hydrogels could make for robots that are more flexible, safer to be around and simpler to build and use. Now researchers at Rutgers University have developed a smart gel that can be 3D printed into a variety of shapes, and electrically-activated to make it “walk” underwater, grab and move objects.
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"Broken nanodiamonds are forever," or so says a team of scientists at Argonne National Laboratory. By combining broken nanodiamonds with molybdenum disulfide layers, they've produced a self-generating, very-low-friction dry lubricant with hundreds of applications that lasts practically forever.
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Spider silk has long held the title of strongest natural biomaterial. Now, researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a new biomaterial out of wood nanofibers that steals the strength record.
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Windows let light, warmth and a view into rooms, but we don’t always want all three of those at once. That’s why researchers in Switzerland are developing a relatively simple method to smarten up windows by embedding tiny mini-mirrors in them and keep rooms comfortable all year round.
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A time crystal sounds like a sci-fi concept, but they’re very real, and as new research reveals, you might have some in your home already. Scientists at Yale University have now spotted the signature of a time crystal in a common crystal that crops up in off-the-shelf crystal-growing kits for kids.
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