Materials Sciences

Materials management deals with the research, development, manufacturing and processing of raw and industrial materials. Key aspects here are biological and medical issues, which play an increasingly important role in this field.

innovations-report offers in-depth articles related to the development and application of materials and the structure and properties of new materials.

Nanocoating could eliminate foggy windows and lenses

Foggy windows and lenses are a nuisance, and in the case of automobile windows, can pose a driving hazard. Now, a group of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) may have found a permanent solution to the problem. The team has developed a unique polymer coating — made of silica nanoparticles — that they say can create surfaces that never fog.

The transparent coating can be applied to eyeglasses, camera lenses, ski goggles … even bathroom mirrors, they say.

Tiny rubber balls give plastic bounce

Automobile bumpers that deform and recover rather than crack and splinter, computer cases that withstand the occasional rough encounter, and resilient coatings that can withstand the ravages of the sun, may all be possible if tiny functionalized rubbery particles are imbedded in their plastic matrices, according to Penn State materials scientists.

“Plastics such as polypropylene, nylon, polycarbonate, epoxy resins and other compounds are brittle and fracture easily,” says Dr. T.C.

Carbon nanotubes made to stick like a gecko’s foot

Renowned for their ability to walk up walls like miniature Spider-Men–or even to hang from the ceiling by one toe–the colorful lizards of the gecko family owe their wall-crawling prowess to their remarkable footpads. Each five-toed foot is covered with microscopic elastic hairs called setae, which are themselves split at the ends to form a forest of nanoscale fibers known as spatulas. So when a gecko steps on almost anything, these nano-hairs make such extremely close contact with the surface th

Study may expand applied benefits of super-hard ceramics

A discovery reported in the August 5 issue of Science could speed the design of materials that approach the hardness of diamond yet remain supple enough to be worked like metal.

In a massive computer simulation involving 128 computer processors and nearly 19 million atoms, materials scientist Izabela Szlufarska of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues at University of Southern California demonstrated the precise atomic mechanisms that explain why “nanostructured” cera

LINPAC stretch film name changed from Zenit to Zenium

LINPAC’s new Zenit line of multi-layer stretch films is undergoing a name change and will, from now on, be called Zenium. Zenium stretch films, which were released earlier this year, are formulated to comply with new EU regulations concerning plastic materials that come into contact with food products.

High resistance to perforation and tearing and optimal flexibility are the major advantages of the Zenium line, which also offers excellent optical properties and increased anti-fogg

To Make Stronger Platinum Jewelry, Add a Little Chromium

Student’s Testing Identifies Metal Mix with Superior Mechanical Properties

Using a high-tech but low-cost technique, a Johns Hopkins undergraduate has tested tiny samples of four metal alloys to find the best blend for use in platinum jewelry. After evaluating four metal mixtures, student researcher Christopher Kovalchick determined that platinum combined with a small amount of chromium in a cold-rolled and heat treatment process displayed the greatest strength.

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