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Archive for the ‘materials’ category: Page 267

Mar 14, 2016

Meta-Materials Bring Us Another Step Closer to an Invisibility Cloak

Posted by in categories: computing, materials, quantum physics, security, transportation

Next to Quantum and Biocomputing, this is one of my favorites. Cloak material to avoid radar. Unfortunatley, we cannot have access to the material for our autos; but it would be nice to have on my car sometimes when I am running late and having to drive quickly somewhere.


Two separate teams of engineers, both conducting research into meta-materials (composites not found in nature) with the intent of developing a flexible, stretchable and tunable meta-skin, are sharing their discoveries with the world. Although the two developments revolve around the same premise—manipulating electromagnetic waves so that the surface that banquets an object becomes invisible—a few exciting differences between the teams’ approaches sets their research apart.

meta-materials

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Mar 14, 2016

PGO Provides Customized Optical Components For Avotec’s Real Eye Nano

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, materials

Good news for MRIs; maybe witht he precision we also may not have to do any repeat scans as well.


Precision Glass & Optics recently announced the customization of two thin film optical components for a high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) accessory. They developed the dielectric cold mirror and cylindrical prism mirror for the Real Eye Nano; an advanced visual presentation and eye-tracking system constructed of glass and plastic with a reduced size for operation in confined MRI spaces.

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Mar 14, 2016

Get ready for DNA-based computer chips!

Posted by in categories: chemistry, computing, electronics, materials, nanotechnology

Interesting — DNA Microchips to be released soon.


Researchers presented this incredible work at the national meeting and exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in San Diego, California, on Sunday.

Adam T Woolley, professor of chemistry at Brigham Young University (BYU) said that they are planning to use DNA’s small size and base-pairing capabilities and ability to self-assemble, and direct it to make nanoscale structures that could be used for electronics.

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Mar 13, 2016

Tiny, artificial trees could form the next generation of windmills

Posted by in categories: energy, materials, sustainability, transportation

Researchers in the US have proposed a new form of wind power: small, artificial, mechanical trees capable of producing energy from their vibrations. Working with the natural breeze, or small movements caused by other factors, the scientists hope that new forms of renewable energy can be developed in the future.

The idea is to create a device that can convert random forces – whether that’s from the footfall of pedestrians on a bridge, or a passing gust of wind – into electricity that can be used to power devices. And the researchers have found that tree-like structures made from electromechanical materials are perfect for the task.

“Buildings sway ever so slightly in the wind, bridges oscillate when we drive on them and car suspensions absorb bumps in the road,” said project leader Ryan Harne from Ohio State University. “In fact, there’s a massive amount of kinetic energy associated with those motions that is otherwise lost. We want to recover and recycle some of that energy.”

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Mar 9, 2016

Graphene-Infused Bike Tires Automatically Get Softer While Cornering For Better Grip

Posted by in categories: materials, particle physics, robotics/AI

Graphene, that atomic-scale super material that promises to revolutionize everything from batteries to robots, is already improving the cycling world. Vittoria’s new graphene-infused Mezcal and Morsa bike tires are lightweight, thin, grippy, and everything a cyclist wants in a tire without any tradeoffs.

Choosing what tires to put on your bike usually depends on the conditions in which you’ll be riding. Larger tires provide better grip and durability, but add weight to a bike, while smaller tires are lighter and sleeker but wear out faster and provide minimal traction.

But by adding graphene—that wonder new material made of carbon atoms arranged in a strong honeycomb pattern—Vittoria’s new G+, or Graphene Plus, tires exhibit wonderful new properties. When riding on straightaways, the dual-layer makeup of the G+ tires allows them to remain firm for lower rolling resistance and added speed. But when a cyclist is braking or cornering, the tires get soft for added traction and grip.

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Mar 9, 2016

Chemists unravel their carbon ramen

Posted by in categories: chemistry, materials, nanotechnology

Noodle-like nanostructures emerge as a cheap alternative to graphene.

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Mar 9, 2016

Stem Cell Breakthrough Could Let Us Grow New Human Eyes

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, materials

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rw1odkI0Nw8

Stem cell breakthrough grows new cornea material that restores some sight to blind rabbits in an experiment.

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Mar 8, 2016

Windows Could Soon Power the Entire Building

Posted by in categories: habitats, materials, particle physics, quantum physics, solar power, sustainability

Q-Dots windows to power homes and other buildings.


Researchers at the Los Alamos National Lab may have found a way to take quantum dots and put them in your ordinary windows to turn them into solar collectors.

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Mar 8, 2016

Gates thinks quantum computing in the cloud may come in a decade

Posted by in categories: computing, internet, materials, quantum physics

I don’t believe that we’re a decade away given the advancements around Quantum infrastructure work such the Quantum Internet and Platform. Too much progress is showing me within the next 7 to 8 years is a possibility especially with the race that we’re all in.


Bill Gates did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit Tuesday and said that there’s a chance within six to ten years that “cloud computing will offer super-computation by using quantum.”

“It could help users solve some very important science problems, including materials and catalyst design,” Gates wrote.

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Mar 7, 2016

How cancer cells fuel their growth

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, materials

Pretty cool.


Scientists report that amino acids, not sugar, supply most building blocks for cancerous tumor cells. Cancer cells are notorious for their ability to divide uncontrollably and generate hordes of new tumor cells. Most of the fuel consumed by these rapidly proliferating cells is glucose, a type of sugar.

Scientists had believed that most of the cell mass that makes up new cells, including cancer cells, comes from that glucose. However, MIT biologists have now found, to their surprise, that the largest source for new cell material is amino acids, which cells consume in much smaller quantities.

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