Materials Sciences

Nanotechnology could make life easier for computer manufacturers and tougher for terrorists, reports a Purdue University research team.

A group led by Jillian Buriak has found a rapid and cost-effective method of forming tiny particles of high-purity metals on the surface of advanced semiconductor materials such as gallium arsenide. While the economic benefits alone of such a discovery would be good news to chip manufacturers, who face the problem of connecting increasingly tiny com

nnovationen aus der industriellen Gemeinschaftsforschung

Pro Jahr gehen in Deutschland etwa 22 Mio. Paar Kinderschuhe über die Ladentheke. Rund 30 Prozent davon stellen deutsche Firmen her. Neben seinem modischen Aussehen und seiner richtigen Passform ist die Fähigkeit zur Wärme- und Feuchtigkeitsregulation maßgeblich für den Komfort eines Schuhs. Die Füße sollen warm und trocken bleiben und vor äußeren Einwirkungen geschützt werden. Der Abtransport des Fußschweißes durch Socke und S

The basque company SK10, which works in the integration of aeronautical structures, has given a significant step forward in its innovation range within compound materials of carbon fibre.

Recently, SK10 has signed with the company EADS-CASA a contract for the development, industrialisation and subsequent mass production of the leading edges of the horizontal stabiliser for the new aircraft Falcon F7X, of the French company DASSAULT.

The development of horizontal stabiliser

A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, Harvard University, and Bar-Ilan University in Israel have grown ultrathin films made of organic molecules on the surface of liquid mercury. The results, reported in the November 15, 2002, issue of Science, reveal a series of new molecular structures that could lead to novel applications in nanotechnology, which involves manipulating materials at the atomic scale.

Growing molecular films on liquid

The success of many advanced technologies that use devices such as sensors and actuators, including gyroscopes and optical devices, depends on microscopic components called microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices made of polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon). Researchers at Case Western Reserve University report in the November 8 issue of Science that miniature micron-sized polysilicon laboratory specimens subjected to cyclic tension/compression loading undergo fatigue, and could ultimately fa

Extreme cold and high heat help optimize the metal’s microstructure

Combining old-fashioned metal-working techniques with modern nanotechnology, engineers at The Johns Hopkins University have produced a form of pure copper metal that is six times stronger than normal, with no significant loss of ductility.

The achievement, reported in the Oct. 31 issue of the journal “Nature,” is important because earlier attempts to strengthen a pure metal such as copper have almost always