http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/ Copyright Elsevier Ltd Intuitiv Ltd (www.intuitiv.net) Wed, 22 May 2013 09:49:26 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/ http://www.materialstoday.com/_common/img/template/materials-today/site-logo.gif http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/20/uncovered-dong-an-wang/902.aspx <p><strong>Man-made cartilage<br /> </strong><br /> Dong-An Wang</p> <hr /> <p><em>Dong-An Wang is a runner up in the 2012 Materials Today cover competition. To find out who all the winners were, head over to </em><a href="http://www.materialstoday.com/view/30652/2012-cover-competition-winners/" ... Mon, 20 May 2013 13:36:31 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/20/uncovered-dong-an-wang/902.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/17/the-3d-printable-gun-a-very-special-38-special-david-bradley/900.aspx <p>&nbsp;</p> <div>Of all the wonderful things a 3D printer can make, a model car for aerodynamic testing, a replacement tea mug for camping or even a linker for connecting the very different connectors of Lego and Brio toy trains (other toys are available), it was perhaps inevitable that someone w ... Fri, 17 May 2013 14:07:36 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/17/the-3d-printable-gun-a-very-special-38-special-david-bradley/900.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/15/digital-bread-sumana-chakrabarti-bell-and-shuo-wang/895.aspx <p style="text-align: left;">It is said that bread-making is an art. Indeed, bread is the subject of popular still life paintings drawn by artists like Vincent van Gogh and Monet. It is a dearly loved, staple food item in most people&rsquo;s diets, so even a picture of a loaf of bread can remind us ... Wed, 15 May 2013 15:39:48 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/15/digital-bread-sumana-chakrabarti-bell-and-shuo-wang/895.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/13/nanoparticles-go-in-disguise-david-bradburn/893.aspx <p>Who hasn't heard of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus Aureus or MRSA. It is a particular virulent highly adaptable bacterial strain, which is now endemic in our hospitals and health centers across the globe, it now affects thousands of people and kills hundreds if not thousands each year.<br / ... Mon, 13 May 2013 16:16:27 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/13/nanoparticles-go-in-disguise-david-bradburn/893.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/7/tougher-thinner-lighter-david-bradburn/890.aspx <p>Army scientists are creating new 2-D materials that will rival Geim and Novoselov's discovery of graphene, which was first isolated in 2003, the result of their astonishing findings was published in 2004 marking a new chapter in the characterization of new 2 and 3D materials. Since their discover ... Tue, 07 May 2013 11:59:09 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/7/tougher-thinner-lighter-david-bradburn/890.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/3/taking-the-lead-david-bradley/888.aspx <p>An engineer friend, Chris Moller, has a passion for a particular region of Africa and spends a lot of his spare time on development trips there advising on sustainable power technologies. One of the problems facing the developing world in its aspiration to come up to our &quot;standard&quot; of l ... Fri, 03 May 2013 15:27:54 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/3/taking-the-lead-david-bradley/888.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/1/wind-energy-for-sale-david-bradburn/884.aspx <p>BP sadly put its US wind power business up for sale recently, this adds to the list of other renewable energy projects the company has invested in over the years which have been sold to the highest bidder.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Wind power has been one of BP's biggest renewable energy earners, and ... Wed, 01 May 2013 15:40:33 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/5/1/wind-energy-for-sale-david-bradburn/884.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/29/nuclear-batteries-david-bradburn/881.aspx <p>Or to be more precise a nano-lithium battery, you can purchase this battery at the moment in China on their equivalent of Amazon. The battery is made of a layer of radioactive tritium. The battery is said to last 20 years or more but with only a small current generated it will not be able to powe ... Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:22:10 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/29/nuclear-batteries-david-bradburn/881.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/26/interview-with-dr-rashid-zia-energy-momentum-spectroscopy/878.aspx <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Our Editor, Stewart Bland, spoke to Dr Rashid Zia about Energy-momentum spectroscopy.<br /> <br /> Stewart Bland:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </strong><br /> <br /> I&rsquo;d like to ask if you can start by introducing yourself, and telling us about your background.<br /> <st ... Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:10:33 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/26/interview-with-dr-rashid-zia-energy-momentum-spectroscopy/878.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/22/april-2013-join-us-online-for-great-materials-science-events/872.aspx <p>We are in full swing for the second quarter of 2013 and it&rsquo;s time to round up what has been happening in the last three months, and to look ahead to the future. <br /> <br /> The Materials Today webinar series for 2013 got off to a great start with three fascinating webinars. The first wa ... Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:00:40 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/22/april-2013-join-us-online-for-great-materials-science-events/872.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/16/a-peak-you-reach-as-polymers-head-for-the-hills-david-bradley/868.aspx <p>My wife and I spent the best part of a week climbing up peaks and down dales recently. We inadvertently bypassed the location for the BBC's latest period drama, The Village not recognising the derelict farmhouse from the TV until a kindly farmer in his woollen suit (demob) and cloth cap (obli ... Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:54:01 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/16/a-peak-you-reach-as-polymers-head-for-the-hills-david-bradley/868.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/10/why-is-carbon-so-fascinating-david-bradley/858.aspx <p>We burn it, we write with it, we date with it, it's apparently a girl's best friend, although there are a few guys out there too who never say no to a little bling (mentioning no names, Mr Beckham, Jay-Z&hellip;), we wipe sooty smuts from our eye while relaxing around the campfire and materials s ... Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:41:53 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/10/why-is-carbon-so-fascinating-david-bradley/858.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/8/unsafe-laser-pointers-caught-my-eye-david-bradley/856.aspx <p>A good old-fashioned wooden pointer, that would be my choice, or better still, no slides at which to point and just a charismatic and engaging speaker. However, it seems that everything has to be gadgetified these days, which is good news for materials scientists, of course, as gadgets need novel ... Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:59:50 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/8/unsafe-laser-pointers-caught-my-eye-david-bradley/856.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/5/rebuilding-graphite-from-graphene-nicholas-colella/854.aspx <p>Graphene, the two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice, is one of the most promising new materials of the last decade. It was first isolated in 2003 by using ordinary adhesive tape to separate graphene flakes from graphite, which consists of many layers of graphene. I ... Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:59:48 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/5/rebuilding-graphite-from-graphene-nicholas-colella/854.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/3/super-strong-spider-silk-laurie-winkless/852.aspx <p>Spider silk has often been regarded as one of Nature&rsquo;s &ldquo;wonder materials&rdquo;, with an unmatched combination of low density, high extensibility and enormous tensile strength, five times greater than that of steel. Historically, the physics of spider silk has been poorly understood, ... Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:16:36 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/4/3/super-strong-spider-silk-laurie-winkless/852.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/27/nuclear-fusion-david-bradburn/846.aspx <p>Nuclear fusion is being seen as the next major opportunity in replacing the much riskier uranium based nuclear fission power plants for producing some if not all of our next generation clean energy.<br /> <br /> The United States of America have set some stretching targets to achieve this ambit ... Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:25:29 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/27/nuclear-fusion-david-bradburn/846.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/25/materials-science-reinvents-the-toilet-simon-martin/842.aspx <p>Not many people like to talk about it, but we all need to go to the toilet. In the developed world the vast majority of us have access to some form of flushing toilet connected to a sewage system that carries our waste away to be processed-usually in remarkably ingenious processing plants that we ... Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:46:57 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/25/materials-science-reinvents-the-toilet-simon-martin/842.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/21/shape-memory-polymers-david-bradburn/838.aspx <p>Improvements in the characterization of materials is supporting a renewed surge in interest and development in the field of shape memory polymers and materials.<br /> <br /> Shape memory polymers (SMPs) have the unique characteristic of being able to remember their original shape following temp ... Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:25:35 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/21/shape-memory-polymers-david-bradburn/838.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/19/vaccines-david-bradburn/834.aspx <p>Vaccines have been with us since at least 1796 when they were first used to prevent small-pox infection. Vaccines are now an integral part of our lives and biomedical engineers are working full-time to improve their range and effectiveness, which have all but wiped out cases of Diphtheria, Yellow ... Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:49:39 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/19/vaccines-david-bradburn/834.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/15/smart-coatings-david-bradburn/832.aspx <p>Nanomaterials in paints and coatings is a fast growing field of research, just recently a new corrosion-resistant steel coating made with fullerene carbon nanotubes was awarded a $100,000 grant to develop and manufacture the coatings. <br /> <br /> The applications of nanomaterials in paints is ... Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:22:54 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/15/smart-coatings-david-bradburn/832.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/13/seeing-magnetic-excitations-with-x-rays-mark-p-m-dean/829.aspx <p>Magnetic materials have fascinated scientists since antiquity, but it was only with the advent of quantum mechanics in the 20^th century that we could properly understand simple magnetic materials such as iron and nickel. This understanding provided the conceptual foundation that engine ... Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:00:11 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/13/seeing-magnetic-excitations-with-x-rays-mark-p-m-dean/829.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/12/the-comic-effect-of-omics-david-bradley/827.aspx <p>Omics have been around for several years now, since science perhaps first learned of genomics, the field in biology of studying genes, the whole gamut of such entities being referred to as the genome and ultimately giving rise to that big &quot;Project&quot;, you remember the one Blair and Clinto ... Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:34:22 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/12/the-comic-effect-of-omics-david-bradley/827.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/8/the-emperors-new-cells-david-bradley/824.aspx <p>Often in science debates rage between factions, some with political or financial agendas, some with preconceived notions and biases, others based on misconceptions and a failure to accept the evidence over theory. Think global warming, relativity, quantum mechanics, plate tectonics, cold fusion, ... Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:47:48 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/8/the-emperors-new-cells-david-bradley/824.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/1/uncovered-jaime-ortiz-l-pez-et-al/819.aspx <p><strong>Tips and tricks for solution-processed film deposition in organic electronics</strong><br /> <br /> <em>Ram&oacute;n G&oacute;mez-Aguilar, Gabriela Rueda-Morales and Jaime Ortiz-L&oacute;pez</em></p> <hr /> <p><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> </span><i style="mso-bi ... Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:37:03 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/3/1/uncovered-jaime-ortiz-l-pez-et-al/819.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/27/smelting-plastics-david-bradley/815.aspx <p>Drain covers made from polyurethane composites could soon replace the old cast iron manhole covers, according to recent news reports. The advantages are fairly obvious the modern manhole covers will be less dense and so easier to handle, they will be essentially worthless to metal thieves and giv ... Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:47:07 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/27/smelting-plastics-david-bradley/815.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/25/battery-island-david-bradburn/811.aspx <p>What happens when your renewable energy reserves are too large to store?<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Until now this was a problem faced by Belgium; they had just become too efficient in creating clean energy that they did not know what to do with the excess, and it was simply going to waste.<br /> &nbs ... Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:55:35 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/25/battery-island-david-bradburn/811.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/22/genetically-modified-food-and-crops-at-the-crossroads-david-bradburn/809.aspx <p>What are the benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops and food; just how much do we really know about the various meals we will eat today? These are just two of the many questions we need to answer if we are to resolve the negative perception currently witnessed around the biotechnology of foo ... Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:31:23 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/22/genetically-modified-food-and-crops-at-the-crossroads-david-bradburn/809.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/20/quantum-dot-tvs-david-bradburn/803.aspx <p>Quantum dots will soon come to a television near you. Various Sony Bravia television models from 2013 will include quantum dots in their flatscreen technology, these screens will transmit enhanced color images when compared to other TVs currently on the market.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Quantum dots a ... Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:54:15 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/20/quantum-dot-tvs-david-bradburn/803.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/18/the-age-of-the-plastic-ape-david-bradley/801.aspx <p>Like its nuclear sibling The Atomic Age, The Plastic Age was untarnished, from its Bakelite prehistory to the ripping yarn of Nylons, we couldn't get enough of the stuff. All that glitters was displaced with polymers, we felled the trees and turned to the primordial soup to render everything from ... Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:33:01 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/18/the-age-of-the-plastic-ape-david-bradley/801.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/14/plasmonic-quantum-tunneling-yugang-sun/799.aspx <p><strong>The killer of enhanced electromagnetic fields in plasmonic nanoparticle dimers</strong><br /> <br /> Moving two plasmonic nanoparticles close together can enhance the electromagnetic field in the gap formed between the two nanoparticles that are illuminated with incident light. The fiel ... Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:45:22 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/14/plasmonic-quantum-tunneling-yugang-sun/799.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/12/batteries-always-included-david-bradley/796.aspx <p>As a child of the 'seventies, I remember oh to well the disappointment of receiving a wonderful new toy for Christmas or birthday that came in a box with the phrase &quot;Batteries not included&quot;. So familiar became the phrase to my generation that Hollywood made a movie of that title. <br /> ... Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:56:24 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/12/batteries-always-included-david-bradley/796.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/5/interview-with-david-joy-charged-particle-microscopy/793.aspx <p><strong>Interview with: David Joy from the University of Tennessee</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Charged particle microscopy</em></strong><br /> <br /> Our Editor, Stewart Bland, spoke to Prof David Joy about his career in electron and ion microscopy.</p> <p><strong>David will also be speaking ... Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:27:08 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/2/5/interview-with-david-joy-charged-particle-microscopy/793.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/31/biomass-boilers-david-bradburn/785.aspx <p>Bioenergy is planned to play an important role in the UKs ability to reach its 2020 renewable energy targets. It will play such an influential role in our future that it is also being touted as contributing to our longer term carbon reduction targets to 2030 and beyond.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Bioen ... Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:46:22 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/31/biomass-boilers-david-bradburn/785.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/30/interview-with-eleanor-schofield-nanoparticle-preservation/783.aspx <p><strong>Interview with: Eleanor Schofield from the University of Kent</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Nanoparticle preservation</em></strong><br /> <br /> Our Editor, Stewart Bland, spoke to Dr Eleanor about using nanoparticles to preserve archelogical finds.<br /> <br /> <strong>Stewart Bland:< ... Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:54:57 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/30/interview-with-eleanor-schofield-nanoparticle-preservation/783.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/25/the-best-thing-since-sliced-carbon-laurie-winkless/778.aspx <p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG /> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Graphene first hit the headlines when two Manchester scientists &ndash; Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov &ndash; won the Nobel Prize for Physics for their wor ... Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:48:42 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/25/the-best-thing-since-sliced-carbon-laurie-winkless/778.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/24/january-2013-a-new-year-a-new-associate-editor-mike-weir/776.aspx <p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG /> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]-->Hello and allow me to introduce myself! My name is Mike Weir and I am the new Associate Editor for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Materials Today</i>. Working with the Edit ... Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:20:11 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/24/january-2013-a-new-year-a-new-associate-editor-mike-weir/776.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/23/it-was-an-accident-david-bradburn/768.aspx <p>Some of the best known discoveries were discovered by accident and that is very much the case with the latest discovery in nanotechnology.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> A group of scientists at Rice University were initially looking for a route to producing tiny nano dots with 4 legs known as Nano-jacks, ... Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:38:36 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/23/it-was-an-accident-david-bradburn/768.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/22/interview-with-prof-tony-ryan-making-polymers-swim/766.aspx <p><strong><span itemprop="description">Interview with: Prof Tony Ryan OBE from the University of Sheffield.</span></strong><br /> <br /> <em><strong>Making polymers swim</strong></em><br /> <br /> <strong>Stewart Bland:&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Hi Tony, welcome to <em>Material ... Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:05:37 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/22/interview-with-prof-tony-ryan-making-polymers-swim/766.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/22/interview-with-assistant-professor-michael-hickner-polymer-research-for-renewable-energy-and-clean-water/765.aspx <p><strong><span itemprop="description">Interview with: Assistant Professor Michael Hickner; Pennsylvania State University, USA </span></strong><span itemprop="description"><br /> <br /> </span><em><strong>Polymer Research for Renewable Energy and Clean Water</strong></em><br /> <br /> <strong> ... Tue, 22 Jan 2013 14:48:54 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/22/interview-with-assistant-professor-michael-hickner-polymer-research-for-renewable-energy-and-clean-water/765.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/21/have-nanoparticles-lost-their-stripes-david-bradley/763.aspx <p>The world of materials science and nanotechnology is certainly not without controversy. Health and safety, environmental concerns, and other issues arise repeatedly especially when new substances with intriguing properties emerge. But, controversy can also arise when researchers find themselves i ... Mon, 21 Jan 2013 10:57:17 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/21/have-nanoparticles-lost-their-stripes-david-bradley/763.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/17/scientists-have-found-a-new-use-for-printers-david-bradburn/761.aspx <p>We're seeing more and more examples of scientists printing body parts; as strange as this may sound it is becoming a popular science. The first examples were seen by a group of scientists at Cornell who successfully used 3D printing technology to model the human ear out of silicone.<br /> <br /> ... Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:22:57 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/17/scientists-have-found-a-new-use-for-printers-david-bradburn/761.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/15/world-helium-resources-in-decline-david-bradburn/760.aspx <p>Helium is the most stable element in the periodic table and it is slightly alone in this respect as it does not react or burn with any other elements, it has the lowest melting and boiling points which contributes to its popularity in so many areas.<br /> <br /> Helium has many uses, and one of ... Tue, 15 Jan 2013 11:51:14 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/15/world-helium-resources-in-decline-david-bradburn/760.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/8/ironing-out-the-co2-problem-david-bradley/752.aspx <p>One of the apparently simplest materials, iron, has been touted as being the key to solving one of our biggest and most complex problems - rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that is forcing rising average temperatures across the globe and pushing potentially debilitat ... Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:25:37 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2013/1/8/ironing-out-the-co2-problem-david-bradley/752.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/12/10/festive-fun-and-wishful-thinking-david-bradley/726.aspx <p>At this time of year, thoughts for many journalists and blogger annually turn to evergreens&hellip;not the non-deciduous trees, but the perennial subjects that come round again and again with the festive seasons. The pharmaceutical compounds being investigated in holly berries or those of that tr ... Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:06:08 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/12/10/festive-fun-and-wishful-thinking-david-bradley/726.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/12/5/science-budget-cuts-to-the-heart-of-the-economy-david-bradburn/718.aspx <p>Just a few days ago many scientists had their minds on other matters, with the imminent outcome of the European Union budget negotiations; the fear was the cuts proposed would be agreed. Actually there was no result by the end of the deliberations, which I think represents a small victory for the ... Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:55:06 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/12/5/science-budget-cuts-to-the-heart-of-the-economy-david-bradburn/718.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/12/3/using-your-mobile-in-the-bath-on-a-sinking-ship-david-bradley/713.aspx <p>I've hopefully debunked a lot of pseudoscientific myths over the years, I've even done it in the pages of Materials Today with an item on the nonsense that is cold fusion (<a href="http://www.materialstoday.com/view/26938/out-in-the-cold-opinion/">http://www.materialstoday.com/view/26938/out-in-t ... Mon, 03 Dec 2012 10:09:45 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/12/3/using-your-mobile-in-the-bath-on-a-sinking-ship-david-bradley/713.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/11/26/of-small-steps-and-giant-leaps-david-bradley/706.aspx <p class="MsoPlainText">There is so much happening in materials: novel composites, nanostructured morphologies, biomimetic materials, biomaterials themselves, materials for solar energy conversion, highly porous materials for energy and gas storage...preparation, modification, characterisation. Seem ... Mon, 26 Nov 2012 11:00:17 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/11/26/of-small-steps-and-giant-leaps-david-bradley/706.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/11/22/interview-with-dr-lukmaan-bawazer-genetically-evolved-semiconductors/700.aspx <p><strong>Interview with: Dr Lukmaan Bawazer from the University of Leeds<br /> <br /> </strong><em><strong>Genetically evolved semiconductors </strong></em><br /> <br /> <strong>Stewart Bland:</strong><br /> <br /> This week, we spoke to Dr Luke Bawazer from the University of Leeds, about th ... Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:20:47 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/11/22/interview-with-dr-lukmaan-bawazer-genetically-evolved-semiconductors/700.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/10/26/where-theres-muck-theres-brass-and-copper-and-aluminium-and-germanium-david-bradley/674.aspx <p>Last week, there was near uproar when it emerged that the multi-million pound processing equipment at our local recycling centre had broken down and materials meant for recycling were now, hopefully temporarily, simply being sent to landfill. It was like the bad-old days all over again. All those ... Fri, 26 Oct 2012 10:23:48 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/10/26/where-theres-muck-theres-brass-and-copper-and-aluminium-and-germanium-david-bradley/674.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/10/10/the-future-of-opv-in-the-wake-of-commercial-failures-frederik-krebs/664.aspx <p>The solar industry is undoubtedly in rapid growth and has been consistently for (several) decades now. In spite of this several companies within the field of photovoltaics have failed, some dramatically and others less dramatically. Of particular interest here are the two companies Solyndra and K ... Wed, 10 Oct 2012 09:26:58 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/10/10/the-future-of-opv-in-the-wake-of-commercial-failures-frederik-krebs/664.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/10/1/thermoelectrics-go-nano-laurie-winkless/657.aspx <p>Scientists from Northwestern University have developed a new nanostructured thermoelectric material which they claim converts heat to electricity more efficiently than any existing material.</p> <p>A thermoelectric (TE) material uses a temperature difference to drive electrons in the material an ... Mon, 01 Oct 2012 13:38:21 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/10/1/thermoelectrics-go-nano-laurie-winkless/657.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/9/26/lucky-nobels-david-bradley/655.aspx <p>The Nobel Prizes started explosively, born of an alleged guilt trip with the invention of dynamite.<br /> <br /> Alfred Nobel (b 21 October 1833, Stockholm, Sweden) was a chemist, engineer and inventor - one might say a pioneering materials scientist, in fact. He manufactured armaments and inve ... Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:23:13 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/9/26/lucky-nobels-david-bradley/655.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/9/12/solar-heat-david-bradley/649.aspx <p>New materials, composites, semiconducting, porous, crystalline, amorphous materials for solar energy conversion seem to feature regularly in the daily scientific news feeds this writer reads every day. Indeed, I've written about many of the developments over the last two-decades-plus as a science ... Wed, 12 Sep 2012 09:05:39 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/9/12/solar-heat-david-bradley/649.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/9/5/materials-addiction-and-a-hint-of-flint-david-bradley/646.aspx <p class="MsoPlainText">Technophilia, internet addiction, mobile dependency...all untested and spurious syndromes associated with the advent of ubiquitous connectivity. Very many of us have found mobile communication devices indispensable in living our lives today. Many people will not leave home or ... Wed, 05 Sep 2012 09:07:09 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/9/5/materials-addiction-and-a-hint-of-flint-david-bradley/646.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/8/30/can-ceramics-talk-adnan-mousharraf/641.aspx <p>In today&rsquo;s world, microwave dielectric materials play a vital role with a wide range of applications from terrestrial and satellite communication including software radio, GPS, and DBS TV to environmental monitoring via satellites.Improved or new microwave components based on dielectric mat ... Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:35:22 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/8/30/can-ceramics-talk-adnan-mousharraf/641.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/8/23/is-pzt-an-environment-friendly-piezoelectric-material-adnan-mousharraf/636.aspx <p>&nbsp;<strong>Is there any alternative that is environment friendly? </strong><br /> <br /> Piezoelectricity is a reversible property possessed by a selected group of materials that does not have a center of symmetry. When a dimensional change is imposed on the dielectric, polarization occurs a ... Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:20:40 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/8/23/is-pzt-an-environment-friendly-piezoelectric-material-adnan-mousharraf/636.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/8/23/printing-the-smallest-color-image-shawn-tan/635.aspx <p>&nbsp;</p> <div><span style="font-size:8.5pt;line-height:115%;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;color:black;background:white">Imagine having an entire art collection literally at the tip of your fingers. <br /> <br /> </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:8.5pt;line-height:115%;Arial&quo ... Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:15:50 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/8/23/printing-the-smallest-color-image-shawn-tan/635.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/8/17/this-is-not-spinal-tap-david-bradley/630.aspx <p>There is a classic scene in the 1984 mockumentary movie &quot;This is Spinal Tap&quot; about a fictitious rock band on tour in which Nigel Tufnel played by actor Christopher Guest holds aloft his Gibson Les Paul electric guitar and without plugging it into an amp nor plucking a string insists tha ... Fri, 17 Aug 2012 10:44:57 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/8/17/this-is-not-spinal-tap-david-bradley/630.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/8/1/silver-nanoparticles-toxic-or-not-yugang-sun/610.aspx <p><em>Silver nanoparticles represent a class of manmade nanomaterials that are the most widely used in commercial medical and consumer products including household antiseptic sprays and antimicrobial bandages.&nbsp; Although silver ions released from the silver nanoparticles exhibit toxicity with n ... Wed, 01 Aug 2012 09:08:49 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/8/1/silver-nanoparticles-toxic-or-not-yugang-sun/610.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/25/aerographite-laurie-winkless/605.aspx <p><em>German scientists unveil their discovery of the lightest material in the world, with a record-breaking density almost five times lower than that of the previous title holder.</em><br /> <br /> Step aside aerogel. Move over metallic microlattices. There&rsquo;s a new material in town - It&rs ... Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:44:31 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/25/aerographite-laurie-winkless/605.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/11/biomaterials-inspired-david-bradley/594.aspx <p>Nature is the mother (or father) of the toughest, strongest, most flexible, energy and atom efficient, materials. As such, lowly scientists and their engineering compatriots in the realm of materials are perpetually in awe, whether testing the porous and lightweight nature of bird bones, the almo ... Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:36:36 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/11/biomaterials-inspired-david-bradley/594.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/5/take-a-deep-breath-david-bradburn/591.aspx <p>If you have watched the film Contagion you can understand how critical it is to rapildly diagnose the out break of flu in a patient, and perhaps avert a major epidemic which can be costly both in terms of human life and also when you look at the economy. Many methods exist to detect viruses like ... Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:30:42 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/5/take-a-deep-breath-david-bradburn/591.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/5/noisy-tweezers-david-bradburn/590.aspx <p>Think about designing a pair of tweezers that actually don't work by touch? Well this is exactly what a group of scientists from the United States have managed to do [Ding <em>et al.</em>, <em>PNAS</em> (2012), doi:10.1073/pnas.1209288109]<br /> &nbsp;<br /> The tweezers are sensitive enough to ... Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:29:19 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/5/noisy-tweezers-david-bradburn/590.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/4/a-new-chapter-in-science-david-bradburn/589.aspx <p>The most common sources of boron&nbsp;that we&nbsp;might&nbsp;know about are tourmaline, borax, and kermite, in its amorphouse phase boron is a brown powder and in its crystalline phase it is black, very hard, with a melting point above 2000c. It is a poor conductor of electricity at room tempera ... Wed, 04 Jul 2012 16:56:01 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/4/a-new-chapter-in-science-david-bradburn/589.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/4/the-nanotech-buzz-david-bradley/588.aspx <p>Back in the day, by which I mean the very early 1990s when I was a fresh graduate chemist first reporting on science, mainly chemistry, as you might have guessed, the buzz was around supramolecular chemistry, the concepts of building smart materials through neat design and the principles of molec ... Wed, 04 Jul 2012 16:54:55 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/4/the-nanotech-buzz-david-bradley/588.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/4/new-life-for-a-dead-battery-david-bradburn/587.aspx <p>&nbsp;</p> <div>It was in 1901 when Thomas Alva Edison first invented the nickel-iron battery. This was only one of his many inventions. We can also mark to his credit pioneering work around what we now call record players, motion pictures, and long lasting electric light bulbs. Where would we b ... Wed, 04 Jul 2012 16:52:16 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/7/4/new-life-for-a-dead-battery-david-bradburn/587.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/research-profile-dan-luo/584.aspx <br /> <p>The LuoLabs nanoparticle subgroup has developed a new and versatile DNA-based strategy for organizing nanoparticle superlattices without the use of any base-pairing. Some of their current research directions include:</p> <div>Real-time dynamical self-organization of nanoparticle superlat ... Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:18:42 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/research-profile-dan-luo/584.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/research-profile-chris-ewels/583.aspx <p>&nbsp;</p> <div>My research is in the field of atomic scale computer modelling of carbon nanomaterials.&nbsp;The incredible versatility in bonding of carbon means that at the nanoscale there is a whole zoology of interesting and unusual carbon nanostructures, each with its own properties and pec ... Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:02:05 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/research-profile-chris-ewels/583.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/research-profile-mark-johnson/582.aspx <p>&nbsp;</p> <div>Spintronics is a multidisciplinary field that includes materials physics, condensed matter physics (magnetism) and device physics. It is a dynamic field where the results of basic research can have implications for production lines on a time as small as two or three years. In bro ... Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:00:40 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/research-profile-mark-johnson/582.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/colloidal-nanoparticle-growth-tracked-with-atomic-resolution-yugang-sun/581.aspx <p>&nbsp;</p> <div>Colloidal nanoparticle growth in liquid environments follows the mechanism of either addition of monomers to the existing nanoparticles or coalescence of the existing nanoparticles.&nbsp;With respect to the coalescence of nanoparticles, the details regarding the attachment and fu ... Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:57:45 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/colloidal-nanoparticle-growth-tracked-with-atomic-resolution-yugang-sun/581.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/research-profile-stephen-pearton/580.aspx <p>&nbsp;</p> <div>Gallium nitride based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have become attractive for use in high power and high frequency applications due to large energy band-gaps, great electron mobility, high breakdown voltages, and considerable 2-D electron gas densities as compared t ... Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:29:55 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/research-profile-stephen-pearton/580.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/research-profile-suwan-jayasinghe/579.aspx <p>&nbsp;</p> <div>Biospray techniques, allow the direct jet-processing of living cells with biopolymers and other biomaterials for controlled deposition to a pre-orientated architecture. These techniques facilitate the direct formation of composite three-dimensional living architecture&rsquo;s mim ... Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:28:47 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/28/research-profile-suwan-jayasinghe/579.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/22/bridging-science-from-east-and-west-roar-s-ndergaard/574.aspx <p>Renewable Energy has been a focus area in Europe and the United States for several decades and important collaborations have been established between research groups from both places. Most conferences today are hosted in both Europe and the USA tend to attract researchers from all over the world. ... Fri, 22 Jun 2012 16:21:41 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/22/bridging-science-from-east-and-west-roar-s-ndergaard/574.aspx http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/22/fair-competition-for-the-best-products-suren-a-gevorgyan/573.aspx <p>When a certain product is developed, such as a material, a device or a service and it results in the establishment of a specific field for such products with a large number of parties involved internationally, it is natural to compete to report the best product. Any fair competition requi ... Fri, 22 Jun 2012 16:19:26 GMT http://www.materialstoday.com/blog/2012/6/22/fair-competition-for-the-best-products-suren-a-gevorgyan/573.aspx