Materials Science
- Materials Science
Copper-wire ‘metamirror’ reflects selectively
A metamaterial mirror reflects only a single wavelength of light, potentially leading to more compact and affordable radio antennas.
- Materials Science
Old chemistry gives jolt to modern batteries
Chemical reactions discovered in the 19th century improve the performance of futuristic batteries.
- Materials Science
Oxygen sneaks into titanium, making it brittle
Oxygen atoms trigger defects in titanium’s atomic structure, making the metal brittle.
- Materials Science
Graphene’s allure becomes magnetic
Single-atom-thick sheets of carbon called graphene can be magnetized with the help of an insulating magnet.
- Materials Science
Carbon supplants silicon in electronic medical sensors
Prototypes of electronic medical devices constructed from organic materials are noninvasive yet offer similar performance as silicon-based health sensors.
- Materials Science
Batteries become safe to swallow with spongy covering
Quantum-inspired coating switches from a conductor to an insulator to prevent injury from swallowed batteries.
- Materials Science
‘Impermeable’ graphene yields to protons
Graphene sheets, impermeable to all atoms and molecules, can be penetrated by protons, new study shows.
- Materials Science
Blue LEDs win Nobel Prize in physics
Light-emitting diodes have led to more energy-efficient bulbs that are elbowing out incandescents.
- Tech
Solar cell powers water-to-hydrogen conversion
High efficiency could make perovskite solar cells useful for generating environmentally friendly fuel.
- Materials Science
Making metamaterials ‘digital’ could simplify invisibility cloaks
The digital world of 1s and 0s has inspired a simpler way to make complex metamaterials.
- Tech
Hydrogen made using sunlight, cheap materials
Photosynthesis-inspired fuel cell uses water to make hydrogen gas and could feature in next-generation cars.
- Materials Science
Buckyballs, diamonds inspire new synthetic molecule
Hitching a hollow ball of carbon to a diamond-shaped lattice yields a useful piece of electrical circuitry.
