Posts Tagged ‘ultraperforming’

Linelight

Developed by the innovative Tokyo-based company Material House, Linelight maximizes the illumination potential of artificial lighting by channeling the illumination of a single light source along a line. Linelight is comprised by a highly-reflective mirror housing fronted by an acrylic lens designed...

October 15th, 2006 | feature, light | Read More

MetaMaterials

The idea of invisibility has fascinated people for millennia and has been an inspiration or ingredient of myths, novels and films, from the Greek legend of Perseus versus Medusa to H.G. Well’s Invisible Man. Dr. Ulf Leonhardt at Scotland’s St. Andrews University has recently published two...

August 17th, 2006 | polymers | Read More

Novec 1230

3M’s Novec 1230 fire-protection fluid is a next-generation halon replacement that balances concerns for human safety, performance, and the environment. Novec 1230 has a zero ozone-depletion potential, an atmospheric lifetime of just five days, and a global warming potential of one. The fluid can be...

June 15th, 2006 | feature, mineral | Read More

LED-Flex

The LED substitute for neon lighting has arrived. After two years of research and development, Mule Lighting has developed a product that looks like traditional neon but is more versatile. To make LED-Flex, Mule Lighting incorporated light emitting diode (LED) technology into a flexible and durable package...

March 13th, 2006 | light | Read More

Scratch Shield

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., has developed the world’s first clear paint that repairs scratches on painted car surfaces, including scratches from car-washing machines, off-road driving and fingernails. Scratch Shield contains a newly developed high elastic resin that helps prevent scratches from affecting...

February 16th, 2006 | paint | Read More

Vacuum Insulation Panels

Cars and homes have at least one thing in common: they consume energy in the form of oil or gas. Energy-efficient vehicles typically make use of lightweight materials and improved engine technologies, and soon home builders will also need to pay greater attention to environmental concerns in their designs....

February 13th, 2006 | feature, mineral | Read More

Bendable Concrete

University of Michigan has developed a new type of fiber-reinforced bendable concrete which looks like regular concrete, but is 500 times more resistant to cracking and 40 percent lighter in weight. Tiny fibers that comprise about 2 percent of the mixture’s volume partly account for its performance....

February 7th, 2006 | concrete, feature | Read More

Superblack

British scientists have invented the darkest material on Earth. The super-black coating was developed by researchers at the National Physical Laboratory in London. It could revolutionize optical instruments because it reflects 10 to 20 times less light than the black paint currently used to reduce unwanted...

January 6th, 2006 | paint | Read More

EcoSmart Fire

So deeply embedded is our notion of what a fireplace should be that one’s first look at an EcoSmart Fire is typically surprising. The source of fuel is not at all apparent: EcoSmart Fire utilizes denatured ethanol rather than wood, so only the flame is visible. Unlike natural-gas fireplaces, EcoSmart...

January 5th, 2006 | metals | Read More

Glare

After a bomb went off in 1988 on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 passengers onboard, the Federal Aviation Administration created standards that industry would have to meet if it chooses to deploy luggage containers capable of withstanding such a blast. During the 1990s, the...

January 4th, 2006 | metals | Read More