Researchers of the Moscow State Textile University have invented the way to impart a stable fragrance to fabrics and polymeric fibers. The smell of rose, hyacinth or lily of the valley does not disappear even after washing.
The application of aromatic rugs, polymeric fiber napkins or fragrant fabrics will be driven by fantasy that can be put to life thanks to the development by the Moscow scientists from the State Textile University. They have learned to process fabrics with special substanc
Even without noticing this, everyday we all make use of many magnetic gadgets and devices, both at home and at work. There are dozens of magnets working in our cars and household appliances and billions of tiny magnets keep records on computer hard disks. These are just a few examples of the importance of magnetic materials in supporting our modern lifestyle.
Whether a particular material can be used in a simple appliance, such as an electric bell, or can be a part of a sophisticated electr
Researchers have developed a process to create wires only 50 nanometers (billionths of a meter) thick. Made from silica, the same mineral found in quartz, the wires carry light in an unusual way. Because the wires are thinner than the wavelengths of light they transport, the material serves as a guide around which light waves flow. In addition, because the researchers can fabricate the wires with a uniform diameter and smooth surfaces down to the atomic level, the light waves remain coherent as they
A tiny nanowire sensor — smaller than the width of a human hair, 1,000 times more sensitive than conventional DNA tests, and capable of producing results in minutes rather than days or weeks — could pave the way for faster, more accurate medical diagnostic tests for countless conditions and may ultimately save lives by allowing earlier disease detection and intervention, Harvard scientists say.
In preliminary laboratory studies demonstrating the capability of the new sensor, the researchers
Ionizing radiation isn’t generally thought of as good for you, but it’s good for artificial hips. A new reference material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will help researchers determine what methods of irradiating the plastic parts in joint replacements during manufacturing will best increase their wear resistance.
Reference Material 8457 is intended to help address concerns about the long-term durability of orthopedic hip implants amid growing use
Discovery could allow industrial production of cables, sheets of pure carbon nanotubes
Researchers at Rice University have discovered how to create continuous fibers of out of pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes. The process, which is similar to the one used to make Kevlar® on an industrial scale, offers the first real hope of making threads, cables and sheets of pure carbon nanotubes (SWNTs).
The research is available online today from the journal Macromolecules.
A new way to manufacture a low-cost superconducting material should lead to cheaper magnetic resonance imaging machines and other energy-efficient applications, say Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists.
Hot isostatic pressing of wires made of magnesium diboride, or MgB2, significantly increased the amount of electrical current the wires can carry without electrical resistance. Wires made from MgB2 would reduce the costs of such products as MRIs and electrical generators, say the researc
Future sensors may take the form of microscopic finger-like structures developed at Ohio State University.
Engineers here have found an easy way to carve the surface of inexpensive ceramic material into tiny filaments, creating a platform for devices that detect chemicals in the air. They could also be used to clean up toxic chemicals or gather solar energy, or to form fog-free or self-cleaning surfaces.
Each filament, or “nanofinger,” consists of a single crystal of the com
Penn State engineers have developed and simulation tested a copper wire transmission scheme for distributing a broadband signal over local area networks (LANS) with a lower average bit error rate than fiber optic cable that is 10 times more expensive.
Dr. Mohsen Kavehrad, the W. L. Weiss professor of electrical engineering and director of the Center for Information and Communications Technology Research who led the study, says, “Using copper wire is much cheaper than fiber optic cable and,
A coating that tethers DNA to a glass surface and allows the molecule to attach in three different places could make DNA microarrays denser and more affordable, according to Penn State material scientists.
DNA is the basis of enormous efforts in research and development in pharmaceutical and chemical industries across the country. To assay large numbers of DNA fragments, researchers use DNA microarrays – sometimes called biochips or genome chips. Currently, manufacture of these chips is time
INASMET Technological Centre is working on a project to develop metallic foams. Metal foams and cellular metals have become one the preferred research fields in mew materials in recent times. Given their special structure and extreme lightness, they have enormous potential for use in a never-ending list of applications in diverse industrial sectors.
Metallic foams are, as their name indicates, metallic materials with a porous structure. They can take either the form an open structure of int
Materials fortified with carbon nanotubes are strongest when the embedded filaments run parallel to each other, but electronic and thermal conductivity are best when the nanotubes are oriented randomly. That the finding from a team of engineers at the University of Pennsylvania who have developed a production technique that permits a finer and more precise dispersion of nanotubes within a material.
The results, which could give scientists the tools to customize nano-tube-laced materials to
Engineers at Ohio State University have overcome a major barrier in the manufacture of high quality light emitting devices and solar cell materials.
Steven Ringel, professor of electrical engineering, and his colleagues have created special hybrid materials that are virtually defect-free — an important first step for making ultra-efficient electronics in the future.
The same technology could also lead to faster, less expensive computer chips.
Ringel directs Ohio Sta
Engineers at Ohio State University and their colleagues have taken an unprecedented look at the interface between layers of silicon and other materials in electronic devices.
What they have learned may help traditional microelectronics remain vital to industry longer than most experts expect. It may even aid the design of other devices where one material meets another — including medical implants.
Using computer simulation, the engineers demonstrated for the first time how
Ultimate goal: a public online database
A computational technique used to predict everything from books that a given customer might like to the function of an unknown protein is now being applied by MIT engineers and colleagues to the search for new materials.
The team’s ultimate goal: a public online database that could aid the design of materials for almost any application, from nanostructure computer components to ultralight, high-strength alloys for airplanes.
A research team led by engineers at Purdue University and physicists at the University of Chicago has made a discovery about the formation of drops that could lead to new methods for making threads, wires and particles only a few nanometers wide.
Such nano-threads, wires and particles could, in turn, have numerous applications, including new kinds of composite materials, electronic circuits and pharmaceutical products, said Osman Basaran, a professor in Purdue’s School of Chemical Engineeri
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