New Atlas

Materials Audio available

Bulletproof metal foam could make military vehicles lighter and more efficient

Nick Lavars June 5, 2019

How do you stop bullets using the lightest material possible? Researchers working on this problem have developed a new type of bulletproof material comparable in performance to conventional armor, but with just half the weight.

Armored vehicles could benefit from a new bulletproof metal foam developed at North Carolina State University

Materials Audio available

New recyclable plastic can break its molecular bonds and start over

Michael Irving May 7, 2019

The vast majority of plastic waste can’t be recycled, meaning it ends up in landfills or the ocean. To help curb the problem, researchers at Berkeley Lab have now designed a new type of plastic that can apparently be reduced right back to its molecular parts, before being remade over and over.

Berkeley Lab researchers have developed a new type of plastic (not pictured) that can be broken ...

Materials Audio available

Breakthrough process welds metal and glass together using ultrafast lasers

Michael Irving March 4, 2019

Traditionally, welding has been limited to materials that share similar properties. But now, scientists are claiming a breakthrough method that can weld together materials as different as glass and metal, thanks to ultrafast laser pulses.

A new breakthrough technology has allowed scientists to weld metal and glass together by turning to ...

Materials

Spider silk's strange reaction to moisture could lead to better artificial muscles

Michael Irving March 3, 2019

It’s no secret that spider silk is one of nature’s most incredible materials. Now scientists have discovered a weird new ability. A team led by MIT has found that when exposed to a certain level of humidity, spider silk suddenly shrinks and twists, which could make it useful in artificial muscles.

Researchers have discovered that spider silk reacts strangely to moisture, a phenomenon that could be useful ...

Materials Audio available

Ultra-light ceramic aerogel stands up to intense temperature swings

Michael Irving February 17, 2019

Ceramic aerogels are incredibly light and can withstand intense heat. The problem is they can be pretty brittle. Now, a team has developed a new ceramic aerogel that’s far hardier and more flexible, even after repeated exposure to wild temperature swings.

Samples of the new ceramic aerogel, which is incredibly lightweight and can withstand intense heat fluctuations

Materials Audio available

Infrared-sensing, auto-cooling fabric knows you're too hot before you do

Michael Irving February 7, 2019

Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have developed a new material that senses how warm a person’s body is and automatically adjusts how much heat it traps or releases.

A new fabric can sense body heat and automatically vent it to the outside air

Materials Audio available

Muscle-inspired materials that get stronger after stretching

David Szondy February 3, 2019

Scientists have found a way to create materials that actually get stronger the more you use them. By mimicking the mechanism that allows living muscles to grow and strengthen after exercise, the polymer breaks down under mechanical stress, then regrows itself into a stronger configuration.

The new hydrogel mimics muscle tissue by becoming stronger with use

Materials Audio available

"Metallic wood" makes nickel as strong as titanium, but five times lighter

David Szondy January 28, 2019

A new technique has been used to turn ordinary metals into "metallic wood" with a greatly improved strength-to-weight ratio. By manipulating materials at the atomic scale, scientists claim to have created a sheet of nickel that is as strong as titanium, but up to five times lighter.

A microscopic sample of the researchers’ "metallic wood"

Electronics Audio available

Two-dimensional antenna converts Wi-Fi signals into electricity

Michael Irving January 28, 2019

In a new step towards truly wireless charging, engineers have developed an ultra-thin device that captures Wi-Fi signals and converts them into electricity.

Engineers have developed a new two-dimensional device that can convert Wi-Fi signals into electricity

Materials Audio available

Traitor bacteria help build graphene water filter that kills other bacteria

Michael Irving January 17, 2019

Water filters get less effective as bacteria builds up on their surface. Now, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a new type of membrane that reduces such biofouling by actively killing bacteria with graphene – and in an interesting twist, it’s built by bacteria.

Researchers have used bacteria to build a new water filter that kills other bacteria