Category Technology/Electronics

(a) Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) phase image showing the lamella microstructure of layered austenite grains embedded in tempered martensite matrix. (b) The dislocation structures in martensite as enlarged in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image. (c) TEM image showing the elongation of dislocation cell structure after the 8% tensile strain. (d) TEM image confirming the transformation of metastable austenite to martensite after 16% tensile strain. Credit: The University of Hong Kong

Automotive, aerospace and defence applications require metallic materials with ultra-high strength...

This raw 3-D printed ploymeric material known as Kapton, created and printed at Virginia Tech, might one day be used in space vehicles or satellites because of its ability to withstand high temperatures. Credit: Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech researchers have created a novel way to 3D print the type of high-temperature polymeric materials commonly used to insulate spacecraft and satellites from extreme heat and cold. Previously, the polyimide could previously be made only in sheets. The material, formally known as Kapton, is an aromatic polymer composed of carbons and hydrogens in benzene rings, which provides exceptional thermal and chemical stability. But because of this molecular structure, the material is notoriously difficult to produce in any format other than thin sheets...

An artist’s depiction of the promise of carbon nanotube porins for desalination. The image depicts a stylized carbon nanotube pipe that delivers clean desalinated water from the ocean to a kitchen tap. Credit: Image by Ryan Chen/LLNL

Lawrence Livermore scientists, in collaboration with Northeastern University have developed a saltwater purification device. The team also found that water permeability in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with diameters smaller than a nanometer (0.8 nm) exceeds that of wider CNTs by an order of magnitude. The nanotubes, hollow structures made of carbon atoms in a unique arrangement, are more than 50,000 times thinner than a human hair...

Coiled carbon nanotube yarns, created at the University of Texas at Dallas and imaged here with a scanning electron microscope, generate electrical energy when stretched or twisted. Credit: University of Texas at Dallas

An international team led by scientists at The University of Texas at Dallas and Hanyang University in South Korea has developed high-tech yarns that generate electricity when they are stretched or twisted. In a study published in the Aug. 25 issue of the journal Science, researchers describe “twistron” yarns and their possible applications, such as harvesting energy from the motion of ocean waves or from temperature fluctuations. When sewn into a shirt, these yarns served as a self-powered breathing monitor.

“The easiest way to think of twistron harvesters is, you have a p...