Blog

1

comment

Uncovered - Dong-An Wang

Man-made cartilage Dong-An Wang 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 http://www.materialstoday.com/view/30652/2012-cover-competition-winners/ or sign up for your free digital subscription http://www.materi ...

Posted 20 May 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Biomaterials , Tools and techniques , Characterization

0

comments

The 3D printable gun: A very special 38 special - David Bradley

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 would upload ...

Posted 17 May 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Tools and techniques , Polymers and soft materials , Mechanical properties

0

comments

Digital bread – Sumana Chakrabarti-Bell and Shuo Wang

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’s diets, so even a picture of a loaf of bread can remind us of the pleasure of biting int ...

Posted 15 May 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Characterization , Panorama , Tools and tecniques

0

comments

Nanoparticles go in disguise - David Bradburn

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. ...

Posted 13 May 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology , Biomaterials

0

comments

Tougher, thinner, lighter - David Bradburn

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 discovery t ...

Posted 07 May 2013 by Materials Today

tags: mechanical properties , carbon , Nanotechnology

0

comments

Taking the lead - David Bradley

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 "standard" of livi ...

Posted 03 May 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Metals and alloys , Energy

0

comments

Wind energy for sale - David Bradburn

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. Wind power has been one of BP's biggest renewable energy earners, and the wind compan ...

Posted 01 May 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Energy , Panorama

0

comments

Nuclear batteries - David Bradburn

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 power o ...

Posted 29 April 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology , Energy

0

comments

Interview with Dr Rashid Zia: Energy-momentum spectroscopy

Our Editor, Stewart Bland, spoke to Dr Rashid Zia about Energy-momentum spectroscopy. Stewart Bland: I’d like to ask if you can start by introducing yourself, and telling us about your background. Dr Rashid Zia: OK. My name is Rashid Zia, ...

Posted 26 April 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Optical materials , Tools and techniques , Characterization , Nanotechnology , Surface science

0

comments

April 2013: Join us online for great materials science events

We are in full swing for the second quarter of 2013 and it’s time to round up what has been happening in the last three months, and to look ahead to the future. The Materials Today webinar series for 2013 got off to a great start with three fascinating webinars. The first was on Multiple i ...

Posted 22 April 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Announcements , Biomaterials , Carbon , Ceramics , Characterization , Composites , Electronic materials , Energy , Magnetic materials , Mechanical properties , Metals and alloys , Nanotechnology , Optical materials , Panorama , Polymer and soft materials , Surface science , Tools and tecniques

0

comments

A peak you reach, as polymers head for the hills - David Bradley

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 (obligat ...

Posted 16 April 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Polymer and soft materials , Panorama

0

comments

Why is carbon so fascinating? - David Bradley

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…), we wipe sooty smuts from our eye while relaxing around the campfire and materials scie ...

Posted 10 April 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Carbon , Nanotechnology , Mechanical properties , Panorama

0

comments

Unsafe laser pointers caught my eye - David Bradley

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 ma ...

Posted 08 April 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Optical materials , Panorama , Electronic materials

0

comments

Rebuilding graphite from graphene – Nicholas Colella

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. Its ...

Posted 05 April 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology , Carbon , Polymers and soft materials , Electronic materials

0

comments

Super-Strong Spider Silk - Laurie Winkless

Spider silk has often been regarded as one of Nature’s “wonder materials”, 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, due ...

Posted 03 April 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Biomaterials , Mechanical properties

0

comments

Nuclear fusion - David Bradburn

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. The United States of America have set some stretching targets to achieve this ambitious goal. The ...

Posted 27 March 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Energy

0

comments

Materials science reinvents the toilet – Simon Martin

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 ar ...

Posted 25 March 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Surface science , Polymers and soft materials , Tools and techniques

0

comments

Shape memory polymers - David Bradburn

Improvements in the characterization of materials is supporting a renewed surge in interest and development in the field of shape memory polymers and materials. Shape memory polymers (SMPs) have the unique characteristic of being able to remember their original shape following temporary deformati ...

Posted 21 March 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Polymers and soft materials

0

comments

Vaccines - David Bradburn

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 fe ...

Posted 19 March 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Biomaterials , Panorama

0

comments

Smart coatings - David Bradburn

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. The applications of nanomaterials in paints is endless and on ...

Posted 15 March 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Surface science , Nanotechnology

0

comments

Seeing magnetic excitations with x-rays - Mark P. M. Dean

Magnetic materials have fascinated scientists since antiquity, but it was only with the advent of quantum mechanics in the 20th century that we could properly understand simple magnetic materials such as iron and nickel. This understanding provided the conceptual foundation that engineers used to de ...

Posted 13 March 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Characterization , Electronic materials , Magnetic materials , Tools and techniques

0

comments

The comic effect of omics - David Bradley

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 "Project", you remember the one Blair and Clinton c ...

Posted 12 March 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Panorama , Biomaterials

0

comments

The emperor's new cells - David Bradley

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, evo ...

Posted 08 March 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Biomaterials , Characterization , Tools and techniques

0

comments

Uncovered - Jaime Ortiz-López et al.

Tips and tricks for solution-processed film deposition in organic electronics Ramón Gómez-Aguilar, Gabriela Rueda-Morales and Jaime Ortiz-López Jaime Ortiz-López et al. are runners up in the 2012 Materials Today cover competition. To find out who all the winners we ...

Posted 01 March 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Polymer and soft materials , Electronic materials , Characterization , Tools and techniques

0

comments

Smelting plastics - David Bradley

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 given ...

Posted 27 February 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Polymer and soft materials , Tools and techniques

0

comments

Battery Island – David Bradburn

What happens when your renewable energy reserves are too large to store? 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. However this is s ...

Posted 25 February 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Energy , Panorama

0

comments

Genetically modified food and crops at the crossroads - David Bradburn

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 food. ...

Posted 22 February 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Biomaterials , Panorama

0

comments

Quantum Dot TV's - David Bradburn

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. Quantum dots are quite simply ...

Posted 20 February 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology , Optical materials , Electronic materials , Panorama

0

comments

The Age of the Plastic Ape - David Bradley

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 to ...

Posted 18 February 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Polymers and soft materials , Panorama

0

comments

Plasmonic quantum tunneling - Yugang Sun

The killer of enhanced electromagnetic fields in plasmonic nanoparticle dimers 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 field enhancement represents one of ...

Posted 14 February 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology , Characterization , Electronic materials , Optical Materials , Surface science

0

comments

Batteries always included - David Bradley

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 "Batteries not included". So familiar became the phrase to my generation that Hollywood made a movie of that title. Today, ...

Posted 12 February 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Energy , Panorama

0

comments

Interview with David Joy: Charged particle microscopy

Interview with: David Joy from the University of Tennessee Charged particle microscopy Our Editor, Stewart Bland, spoke to Prof David Joy about his career in electron and ion microscopy. David will also be speaking in our next webinar. Click here to register. Stewart Bland: ...

Posted 05 February 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Characterization , Tools and techniques

0

comments

Biomass boilers - David Bradburn

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. Bioenergy is essenti ...

Posted 31 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Biomaterials , Tools and techniques , Polymer and soft materials

0

comments

Interview with Eleanor Schofield: Nanoparticle preservation

Interview with: Eleanor Schofield from the University of Kent Nanoparticle preservation Our Editor, Stewart Bland, spoke to Dr Eleanor about using nanoparticles to preserve archelogical finds. Stewart Bland: Can you start by introducing yourself and telling us about your background? Ele ...

Posted 30 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology , Surface science

2

comments

The best thing since sliced carbon - Laurie Winkless

Graphene first hit the headlines when two Manchester scientists – Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov – won the Nobel Prize for Physics for their work on it. Since the Nobel Prize, the UK government is estimated to have allocated £60 million of funding for this field, but d ...

Posted 25 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Carbon , Nanotechnology , Panorama

0

comments

January 2013: A new year, a new Associate Editor - Mike Weir

Hello and allow me to introduce myself! My name is Mike Weir and I am the new Associate Editor for Materials Today. Working with the Editor Stewart Bland, I will be responsible for the blog, social media and the webinar program. I look forward to embarking on a journey of materials science d ...

Posted 24 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Announcements , Biomaterials , Carbon , Ceramics , Characterization , Composites , Electronic materials , Energy , Magnetic materials , Mechanical properties , Metals and alloys , Nanotechnology , Optical materials , Panorama , Polymers and soft materials , Surface science , Tools and Techniques

0

comments

It was an accident - David Bradburn

Some of the best known discoveries were discovered by accident and that is very much the case with the latest discovery in nanotechnology. 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, but actually cr ...

Posted 23 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: biotechnology , tools and techniques , polymers and soft materials

0

comments

Interview with Prof Tony Ryan: Making polymers swim

Interview with: Prof Tony Ryan OBE from the University of Sheffield. Making polymers swim Stewart Bland: Hi Tony, welcome to Materials Today. Please start by introducing yourself. Tony Ryan: My name’s Tony Ryan. I’m ...

Posted 22 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Polymers

0

comments

Interview with Assistant Professor Michael Hickner: Polymer Research for Renewable Energy and Clean Water

Interview with: Assistant Professor Michael Hickner; Pennsylvania State University, USA Polymer Research for Renewable Energy and Clean Water James Williams: Hi Michael, welcome to Materials Today. Please could you introduce yourself and tell us which factors helped you de ...

Posted 22 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Polymers

0

comments

Have nanoparticles lost their stripes? - David Bradley

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 in d ...

Posted 21 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology , Carbon , Biotechnology

0

comments

Scientists have found a new use for printers - David Bradburn

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. Most examples ...

Posted 17 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: biomaterials , tools and techniques , polymer

0

comments

World helium resources in decline - David Bradburn

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. Helium has many uses, and one of the most popul ...

Posted 15 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Characterization , Tools and techniques , Panorama , Cryogenics

0

comments

Ironing out the CO2 problem - David Bradley

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 debilitating ...

Posted 08 January 2013 by Materials Today

tags: Energy , Environment , Panorama

1

comment

Festive fun and wishful thinking - David Bradley

At this time of year, thoughts for many journalists and blogger annually turn to evergreens…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 tradi ...

Posted 10 December 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Polymer , composites , energy , electronic materials , panorama

0

comments

Science budget cuts to the heart of the economy - David Bradburn

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 op ...

Posted 05 December 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Panorama , Announcements , Funding

0

comments

Using your mobile in the bath on a sinking ship - David Bradley

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 (http://www.materialstoday.com/view/26938/out-in-the-cold-opinion/). Another issue that needs debunking is the notion that using ...

Posted 03 December 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Panorama , Tools and Techniques , Biomaterials , Electronic Materials

0

comments

Of small steps and giant leaps - David Bradley

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. Seemingly, never a day goes ...

Posted 26 November 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Panorama , Announcements , Energy , Characterization

0

comments

Interview with Dr Lukmaan Bawazer: Genetically evolved semiconductors

Interview with: Dr Lukmaan Bawazer from the University of Leeds Genetically evolved semiconductors Stewart Bland: This week, we spoke to Dr Luke Bawazer from the University of Leeds, about the work he conducted on biologically-produced semi-conductors at the University of California, Santa ...

Posted 22 November 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Biomaterials

0

comments

Where there's muck there's brass...and copper...and aluminium...and germanium...- David Bradley

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 mi ...

Posted 26 October 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Characterization , Electronic Materials , Metal , Panorama

0

comments

The future of OPV in the wake of commercial failures - Frederik Krebs

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 Kona ...

Posted 10 October 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Energy , Photovoltaic , Commercial

0

comments

Thermoelectrics go nano - Laurie Winkless

Scientists from Northwestern University have developed a new nanostructured thermoelectric material which they claim converts heat to electricity more efficiently than any existing material. A thermoelectric (TE) material uses a temperature difference to drive electrons in the material and create a ...

Posted 01 October 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology , Energy , Thermoelectric , Electronic Materials , Characterization

0

comments

Lucky Nobels - David Bradley

The Nobel Prizes started explosively, born of an alleged guilt trip with the invention of dynamite. 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 invented ballistite ...

Posted 26 September 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Panorama , Nobel , Nano , Character , Energy , Chemistry , Physics

0

comments

Solar heat - David Bradley

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 wr ...

Posted 12 September 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Energy , Composites , Electronic Materials

0

comments

Materials addiction and a hint of flint - David Bradley

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 office without checking ...

Posted 05 September 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Communication , Panorama , Nanotechnology

0

comments

Can ceramics talk? - Adnan Mousharraf.

In today’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 materi ...

Posted 30 August 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Ceramics , Communication , Electronic materials

0

comments

Is PZT an environment friendly piezoelectric material? - Adnan Mousharraf

Is there any alternative that is environment friendly? 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 and a voltage or field is created ...

Posted 23 August 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Electronic materials , Energy

0

comments

Printing the smallest color image - Shawn Tan

Imagine having an entire art collection literally at the tip of your fingers. This may now be possible with the latest development in printing technology. Scientists from A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore have achieved the highest possib ...

Posted 23 August 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Biomaterials , Characterization , Nanotechnology , Optical materials , Surface science

0

comments

This is not Spinal Tap - David Bradley

There is a classic scene in the 1984 mockumentary movie "This is Spinal Tap" 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 that i ...

Posted 17 August 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Characterization , Mechanical Properties , Biomaterials

0

comments

Silver nanoparticles: toxic or not? - Yugang Sun

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. Although silver ions released from the silver nanoparticles exhibit toxicity with no doubt ...

Posted 01 August 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Characterization , Nanotechnology , Metals and Alloys

0

comments

Aerographite - Laurie Winkless

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. Step aside aerogel. Move over metallic microlattices. There’s a new material in town - It’s jet-black, it&rsqu ...

Posted 25 July 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology , Carbon , Graphite

0

comments

Biomaterials, inspired? - David Bradley

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 almost ...

Posted 11 July 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Biomaterials , Characterization

0

comments

Take a deep breath - David Bradburn

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 thi ...

Posted 05 July 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Biotechnology , Biomaterials

0

comments

Noisy tweezers - David Bradburn

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 et al., PNAS (2012), doi:10.1073/pnas.1209288109] The tweezers are sensitive enough to manipulate single particles and ...

Posted 05 July 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology , Tools

0

comments

A new chapter in science - David Bradburn

The most common sources of boron that we might 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 temperatur ...

Posted 04 July 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Characterization

0

comments

The nanotech buzz - David Bradley

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 molecula ...

Posted 04 July 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Nanotechnology

0

comments

New life for a dead battery - David Bradburn

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 be without Ed ...

Posted 04 July 2012 by Materials Today

tags: Energy

0

comments

Research profile: Dan Luo

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: Real-time dynamical self-organization of nanoparticle superlattices, Patterning ...