New Atlas

Materials Audio available

Platinum-gold mix becomes world's most durable metal alloy

Michael Irving August 16, 2018

Sandia engineers have developed the most durable metal alloy ever created. Made up of a combination of platinum and gold, the new material is 100 times more wear-resistant than high-strength steel, and the first metal alloy to join the same class as diamond. It also produces its own lubricant.

Sandia researchers Michael Chandross (left) and Nic Argibay, overseeing the testing of the platinum-gold alloy that's ...

Space Audio available

Sizzling exoplanet is hot enough to vaporize titanium

Michael Irving August 15, 2018

With surface temperatures of up to 4,327° C (7,820° F), exoplanet KELT-9b is hotter than many stars – and, according to a new discovery, hot enough to vaporize heavy metals. Researchers have now detected iron and titanium vapor in KELT-9b’s atmosphere.

Exoplanet KELT-9b has surface temperatures of up to 4,327° C (7,820° F)

Energy

Liquid metal feeds Stanford's new high-voltage flow battery

Michael Irving July 20, 2018

Flow batteries have the potential to help store energy on a large scale, but there are a few issues still to overcome. Stanford engineers have developed a new type of flow battery that might be scalable, safe, efficient and inexpensive, using a metal mixture that remains liquid at room temperature.

Engineers at Stanford have developed a new type of flow battery using a metal mixture that ...

Science

Computer modeling helps make a cheaper nickel

David Szondy June 24, 2018

A US five-cent nickel can cost up to seven cents to make, so the US mint and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are working on a version of the coin that is 40-percent cheaper, but is still as tough as the old one and maintains compatibility with modern vending machines.

A test nickel with fake images and words to avoid violating US counterfeiting laws

Environment

Solar-powered harvester sucks drinkable water out of thin air

Michael Irving June 12, 2018

Although there are trillions of liters of water floating around in the air, it’s not easily accessible. Now engineers have developed a device powered by the Sun that can pluck practical quantities of drinkable water out of thin air, and they've successfully field-tested it in the Arizona desert.

Researchers at UC Berkeley test a device that can pluck drinkable water from the air

Energy

Nanoparticles are dyeing to convert infrared to visible light for solar cells

Michael Irving April 23, 2018

Most solar cells only capture the visible light. Now, researchers at Berkeley Labs have developed a way to use nanoparticles coated in special organic dyes to convert near-infrared light into visible light, which could allow solar cells to harvest more of the spectrum.

A close-up artist's rendition of an upconverting nanoparticle: after the nanoparticle has absorbed infrared light, an ...

Materials

Aluminum oxide coatings move like liquids to combat corrosion

Michael Irving April 9, 2018

Metals may seem tough, but given enough time even plain old air can be their undoing. An MIT team has found that aluminum can be protected from oxidation by a thin coating of aluminum oxide, which acts like a liquid, flowing to fill any gaps as they form.

Extremely thin layers of aluminum oxide (center) act like a liquid, protecting aluminum (bottom) from oxidation ...

Materials

New type of glass made of metal organic compounds breaks tradition

Michael Irving March 13, 2018

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.

Researchers have created a new type of glass, dubbed ZIF-62, made from metal-organic compounds

Materials

Meet gallenene: Gallium joins graphene in the second dimension

Michael Irving March 12, 2018

Graphene hogs all the headlines about two-dimensional materials, but it might just be the beginning. Researchers have now isolated a 2D form of the soft metal gallium, dubbed "gallenene," which could make for efficient, thin metal contacts in electronic devices.

"Gallenene" is a new, two-dimensional version of gallium

Medical

E-cigarette vapor contains potentially unsafe levels of chromium, nickel and lead

Rich Haridy February 22, 2018

Research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found that a number of e-cigarette vapors contain unsafe levels of toxic metals, including lead and chromium. It is suspected that blame lies with e-cigarette heating coils that are contaminating the aerosols generated by the device.

A new study suggests that e-cigarette heating coils could be leeching toxic metals into the vapor ...