PNNL has vitrified low-level radioactive waste taken from a tank at the decommissioned Hanford Site nuclear production complex in Washington state for the first time in a continuous process. The waste was turned into durable glass that immobilizes the radioactive and chemical compounds inside.
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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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Researchers have developed a new polymer film that’s transparent, looks and feels like glass, and conducts electricity. The material is easy to manufacture on a large scale, should be less expensive than the commonly-used, inorganic indium tin oxide, and is more conductive than other polymers.
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The glass we’re most familiar with is made from silicon dioxide, but now, an international team of scientists have developed a brand new class of glass, made from metal-organic compounds. These new materials form glass more readily than other types, and are much more pliable.
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Slovenia's OFIS Architects recently completed a prototype micro-house that runs off-the-grid in Granada, Spain, and serves as a retreat for one or two people for up to a week at a time. The dwelling, appropriately dubbed Glass House, sports an energy-efficient triple-glazed glass facade.
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Curtains or blinds might eventually get the flick in favor of smart windows. Now a team of engineers has demonstrated a new design. Dubbed Large-Area Fluidic Windows (LaWin), the system uses iron particles suspended in liquid to block sunlight at different levels, and harvest its heat energy.
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Carlo Ratti Associati has taken a novel approach to designing a new factory for Italian tomato firm Mutti. It features a visitor's center with walls made from glass tomato sauce jars – tomatotecture, if you will – as well as a terrace allowing the public to watch the tomatoes being processed.
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With blinds in front of our windows, we usually have to choose between light and privacy, but “smart glass" can toggle its opacity as needed. Now a University of Pittsburgh team has developed a new type of glass that can switch between hazy and clear in seconds – just add water.
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Metallic glass is an emerging type of material, so its secrets are still being discovered. While working with the stuff, a team of Yale researchers created a brand new type of metallic glass, by shrinking samples down to the nanoscale until it forms a unique crystalline phase.
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Whether they're on smartphone displays or TV screens, reflections can be a nuisance. Scientists working at Brookhaven National Laboratory, however, have reportedly found a way of almost eliminating them. It involves treating regular glass surfaces by etching tiny nanoscale cones into them.
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