Materials and Chemicals

HEADLINES ARCHIVE

  • Diamond Flaws: Bad for Weddings, Good for Quantum Communications

    Researchers have discovered that implanting flaws in diamonds could be a key to preserving quantum communications information over long distances.

  • How to Cost-Effectively Manufacture Superalloy Aerospace Combustor and Turbine Components

    Superalloys are engineered for high-temperature strength, creep, fatigue and toughness characteristics. These properties make component manufacturing extremely difficult. New rapidly solidified powder metal superalloys allow increased alloying additions to further enhance properties, which also exacerbates manufacturing challenges.

  • Forming a Floating Park from Plastic Waste

    Plastic waste retrieved from rivers can be transformed into floating islands for recreational and aquatic biota benefits.

  • New DNA Test Gives Runners Deeper Insight to Their Running Technique

    Orig3n Inc. has announced the national launch of a new Run™ DNA Test.

  • Watch: Apple Fix for Locating 911 Calls, Environmentally Friendly Explosive, More Delivery Drones

    The Engineering360 video news brief for the week of July 4, 2018.

  • Water-Repellent Coating Better, Safer

    Current water-repellent coatings are dangerous to both the environment and our bodies. Researchers have hit upon a promising solution.

  • New Foot Prosthetic Creates A Natural Walk While Being Affordable

    MIT researchers have teamed up with Jaipur Foot to create an affordable and effective foot prosthetic for people who cannot afford expensive prosthetics.

  • Ingredient Found in Certain Hand Washes and Toothpastes May Contribute to Antibiotic Resistance

    A compound found in over 2,000 personal-care products such as hand wash and toothpaste — called triclosan — is not an antibiotic but an antimicrobial compound.

  • Enzyme Turns Lignin into Sustainable Products with Eco-friendly Production

    Researchers have discovered a new family of enzymes that can convert plant waste into eco-friendly and high-value products.

  • Researchers Develop Ship Coatings to Fight Friction Drag

    A materials science professor from the University of Michigan has developed a new coating capable of shedding just about everything from water, alcohol, oil and even peanut butter.

  • Watch How Medical Materials are Derived from Cuttlefish Bone

    Cuttlebone was demonstrated to be a natural biologically active material possessing bone and wound healing properties.

  • Graphene's Latest Trick: Quantum Flexoelectric Crinkles

    Another peculiar property of graphene has been reported: thin lines of intense electrical charges caused by lateral compression, which could be useful in a variety of applications.

  • Biosensors Based on Semiconducting Plastics

    Semiconducting plastics such as those used in solar cells and flexible electronics may now find biomedical applications. These materials were used by an international team of researchers to design a low-cost sensor that can track concentrations of lactate, glucose and other critical metabolites.

  • Watch: Blubber-Inspired Wetsuit, People Mover for LAX, Reducing Diesel Emissions

    In this week's Engineering360 news brief: a blubber-inspired wetsuit, people mover for LAX, and reducing diesel emissions.

  • Watch: Mantis Shrimp’s Club Inspires New Tough Material

    Researchers from Purdue University, in collaboration with the University of California Riverside, have created a new material inspired by the mantis shrimp’s dactyl club.

  • Chemists Develop Possible Plastic Alternative That is Biorenewable, Biodegradable

    Polymer chemists from Colorado State University are one step closer to developing a biorenewable, biodegradable plastic — a possible alternative to the much-maligned material.

  • Seattle Set to Ban Plastic Straws, Cutlery Beginning July 1st

    Seattle is set to become the first major city in the United States to outlaw plastic straws and utensils with a ban that will go into effect on July 1st.

  • Fly Ash Strengthens Concrete with Low Carbon Dioxide Footprint

    A composite binder made primarily of fly ash, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants, can replace Portland cement in concrete.

  • New Building Material Made from Rice, Glass and Fungus

    Scientists from Australia have created a low-carbon, fire-resistant building material by combining agricultural and industrial waste and binding it with Trametes versicolor, which is a fungus.

  • How to Select the Right Thermal Coating

    Thermal coating, also known as thermal spray coating, is used to treat surfaces and enhance surface characteristics. In essence, it is an engineered coating designed to address specific applications with an emphasis either on specific corrosive species, performance characteristics or specific operating environments. While thermal spray coatings are known as a superior surface treatment, there are numerous types and application methods. The bigger question isn’t if a thermal coating is the best option but what is the best thermal coating for a given application.

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