material

Transparent Armor

Dec 23, 2018Comments off

Ultrahard spinel glazing material Spinel, or magnesium aluminate, is a durable ceramic material found in some of the world’s most renowned gemstones—such as rubies in

Liquid Crystal Elastomer

Dec 09, 2018Comments off

Flexible polymer network with liquid crystal ordering Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are shape-responsive materials that can react to stimuli in the environment. These materials are

Porous Glass

Nov 25, 2018Comments off

Moisture-absorbing plaster inclusion Porous Glass is a flake-based glass material for incorporation in plaster. Made of Vycor glass, which is 95 percent silica, porous glass

DysCrete

Nov 18, 2018Comments off

Energy-generating concrete DysCrete is a dye-sensitized energy-generating concrete made by coating prefabricated concrete components with layers of organic dyes held in suspension. Dye-sensitized solar cells

Nanocellulose Solar Cell

Nov 11, 2018Comments off

Solar cell made from trees Although artificial solar cells are designed to emulate the natural process of photosynthesis, they could not be more materially different

Algaemy

Sep 23, 2018Comments off

Color-changing microalgae dye Algaemy is a project that investigates the potential of microalgae as a pigment in textile printing. All patterns consist of living, self-harvested

Ceramic Paper

Aug 12, 2018Comments off

Elastic vanadium pentoxide paper Ceramics are among the oldest materials manipulated by humans, and their properties of rigidity and brittleness are quite familiar. Scientists at

Tunable Material

Aug 05, 2018Comments off

Liquid film with switchable properties Dynamic natural processes are inspiring a new generation of adaptive material technologies. The tears that coat human eyes, for example,

Photoluminescent Bioplastic

Jun 24, 2018Comments off

Light-emitting biopolymer Bioplastics offer a broad range of characteristics suitable for design and architectural applications. Architect Peter Yeadon experiments with various configurations of bioplastics and

Smart Paint

Apr 08, 2018Comments off

Paint that monitors structural health Scientists at Glasgow’s University of Strathclyde have developed a Smart Paint for monitoring the physical health of the structures it