Category Technology/Electronics

The team used conventional laboratory filter paper as a structural template due to its long fibers and the stable structure. Credit: Institute for Complex Systems /Rome

A team has built the first controllable random laser based on cellulose paper in Straubing. Hence, materials no longer need to be artificially outfitted with disordered structures, utilizing naturally occurring ones instead. Material synthesis that is inspired by biology is an area of research at TUM’s Chair of Biogenic Polymers at Straubing Center of Science. It utilizes models from nature and biogenic materials to develop new materials and technologies.

Two components are necessary for a laser: First of all, a medium which amplifies light. And secondly, a structure which retains the light in the medium...

Electrical response of a circular diaphragm composed of a pure bottlebrush elastomer upon electroactuation with increasing voltage and without any external pre-strain. The numbers indicate the electric field-induced area expansion under constant-volume conditions at room temperature. Credit: Image courtesy of North Carolina State University

A multi-institutional team has developed a new electroactive polymer material that can change shape and size when exposed to a relatively small electric field. The advance overcomes two longstanding challenges regarding the use of electroactive polymers to develop new devices, opening the door to a suite of applications ranging from microrobotics to designer haptic, optic, microfluidic and wearable technologies.

“Dielectric elastomers are the most respo...

Chemical Structure of the Gels (A) Schematic representation of HPPRx and HPPul used in this study. (B) Chemical structures of the PRx-PB (x) gel, Pul-PB (x) gel, PRx-CC (x) gel, and pAAm (x) gel used in this study. Here, x represents the mol % content of cross-linker units in the vinyl polymerization.

Before we have self-healing cars or buildings, we need strong materials that can fully self-repair in water-free environments. Self-healing materials work very well if they are soft and wet, but research groups have found that the ability to self-repair diminishes as materials dry out. Scientists at Osaka University are beginning to bridge this gap with rigid materials that can repair 99% of a cut on the surface in semi-dry conditions...

A Neural Bridge. The brain-spine interface developed for this study uses a brain implant like this one to detect spiking activity in the brain’s motor cortex. Seen here, a microelectrode array and a silicon model of a primate’s brain, as well as a pulse generator used to stimulate electrodes implanted on the spinal cord. Credit: Alain Herzog / EPFL

An international team has used a wireless “brain-spinal interface” to bypass spinal cord injuries, SCIs in a pair of rhesus macaques, restoring intentional walking movement to a temporarily paralyzed leg. This is the first time a neural prosthetic has been used to restore walking movement directly to the legs of nonhuman primates...