Materials Science

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.

Materials Science

One-Upping Nature’s Materials

Striving for designer substances that build themselves from individual molecules.

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.

Materials Science

Nanotech Goes to New Lengths: Scientists create ultralong carbon nanotubes

In an advance toward making superstrong fibers, chemists have synthesized a 4-centimeter-long carbon nanotube, the longest nanotube reported to date.

Materials Science

Falling into Place: Atom mist yields nanobricks and mortar

Researchers have induced tiny particles of nickel to spontaneously assemble into exceptionally uniform, three-dimensional arrays of macroscopic size.

Materials Science

Model Growth: Simulations expose branching nature of polymer crystals

Using computer models, scientists have uncovered previously unknown facets of the physics underlying polymer crystal growth.

Materials Science

Face to Face: Crystal-growth method bodes electric payoff

A new method for growing silicon carbide eliminates crystal defects that have long prevented the compound's wider use in electric devices.

Materials Science

Warm Reflections: Window tint kicks in when it’s hot

A novel window coating automatically transforms into a heat mirror only when warmed above room temperature.

Materials Science

Bacterial glue: The stuff that binds?

A sticky slime secreted by bacteria could soon find its way into a host of wood products, including plywood and particleboard.

Materials Science

Sea urchin shell lights the way for optical material

Using the porous skeleton of a sea urchin as a template, materials scientists have fabricated a photonic crystal.

Materials Science

Savvy Sieve: Carbon nanotubes filter petroleum, polluted water

A filter made out of carbon nanotubes has potential for such applications as processing crude oil and decontaminating drinking water.

Materials Science

To make bronze, tin flakes do a wild dance

Upsetting some prevailing ideas about how alloys form, rafts of tin atoms jitterbug madly around on a pure copper surface and leave spots of bronze in their wakes.