Materials Science

  1. Materials Science

    Transparent Transistor: See-through component for flexible displays

    Transparent transistors deposited on flexible sheets of plastic could find their way into computer displays embedded in car windshields and other curved surfaces.

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  2. Materials Science

    New lithium battery design charges up

    Researchers have developed a new, safer type of electrode for lithium batteries.

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  3. Materials Science

    A hard new material with a soft touch

    Adding exotic substances called quasicrystals to polymers creates nonabrasive hard materials, which could soon serve as coatings in machine parts.

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  4. Materials Science

    Nanotubes: Knot just for miniature work

    A new technique can spin individual nanotubes into durable ribbons and threads visible to the naked eye.

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  5. Materials Science

    Nanotubes get as small as they can

    Two research teams have created stable carbon nanotubes with the smallest diameter that scientists believe is physically possible, at just 0.4 nanometer across.

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  6. Materials Science

    Making Stuff Last

    Chemistry and materials science step up to preserve history, old and new.

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  7. Materials Science

    Electronics Detox: Leadfree material for ecofriendly gadgetry

    Responding to growing concern over the disposal of electronic devices, scientists in Japan have created a lead-free piezoceramic that could replace the toxic components in many of these gadgets.

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  8. Materials Science

    Metal Makeover

    Metallic glasses with extraordinary strength and corrosion resistance have been known for decades, but only recently have researchers been able to make such alloys on a large scale from inexpensive iron.

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  9. Materials Science

    Anyone want to knit a microscopic sweater?

    Microscopic polymer tubes can tangle themselves into a new and possibly useful structure—tiny "yarn balls" that flatten out and partly unravel in an electric field.

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  10. Materials Science

    Reversible gel restores artwork

    To help conservationists restore paintings to their original glory without damaging the original paint, chemists have developed a cleaning product that switches from a liquid to a gel.

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  11. Materials Science

    One-Upping Nature’s Materials

    Striving for designer substances that build themselves from individual molecules.

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  12. Materials Science

    Heat-controlled implant delivers insulin on demand

    The field of drug delivery is literally heating up, with the development of a new polymer implant that releases insulin in response to changes in temperature.

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