Category Physics

The specific strength of our CNF fibers engineered at multiscale exceeds that of metals, alloys, and glass fibers, enhancing the potential of sustainable lightweight high-performance materials with multiscale self-organization.

When it comes to materials, there is no question as to who wins the strongman competition. Spider silk is known as being the strongest fabric, and steel, ceramics and glass fibers are the best building materials. But now, researchers are reporting in ACS Nano that specially arranged nano-sized cellulose fibers are the strongest material of them all, in a move that might cause some to re-name Superman the “man of cellulose.”

Recently, scientists have been trying to mimic the architecture of natural materials on the nanoscale level with the hopes that it would transla...

This false-color, scanning electron microscope image shows the fractured surface of a sequentially bonded graphene sheet. An international research team led by scientists at Beihang University in China and The University of Texas at Dallas developed the high-strength, super-tough sheets, which can be inexpensively fabricated at low temperatures. Credit: Image courtesy Beihang University

Material’s properties exceed those of carbon fiber composites used in aircraft bodies, sports equipment. The team made the sheets by chemically stitching together platelets of graphitic carbon, which is similar to the graphite found in the soft lead of an ordinary pencil...

Although unappetizing in this lab shot, these creatures are already used for many other purposes, including as an ingredient in Asian cuisine. Credit: Johan Foster

A NIST team has measured the best wood-to-pest ratio for the design of new composites. Tunicates are slimy invasive exotic pests that some people like to eat. Now they may be used to make UV-reflective, flexible construction materials. They have combined derivatives of two surplus materials – wood pulp and dried-up pieces of an invasive exotic pest – to form a new composite material that is flexible, sustainable, nontoxic and UV light-reflective. The material could soon be used in a wide variety of applications, including food packaging, biomedical devices, building construction and the design of cars, trucks and boats.

The key ...

A depiction of the crystal structure of chromium triiodide (CrI3), with chromium atoms shown in purple and iodine atoms in yellow. The black arrows represent the electron “spins,” which are analogous to tiny bar magnets.Tiancheng Song

Scientists have discovered a method to encode information using magnets that are just a few layers of atoms in thickness. This breakthrough may revolutionize both cloud computing technologies and consumer electronics by enabling data storage at a greater density and improved energy efficiency.

In a study published online May 3 in the journal Science, the researchers report that they used stacks of ultrathin materials to exert unprecedented control over the flow of electrons based on the direction of their spins – where the electron “spins” are analogous t...