Defect engineering tagged posts

Argonne researchers are the first to capture the formation of nanomaterial defects in near-real time. Their work will help other researchers model the behavior of materials, a step that is key to engineering stronger, more reliable materials. Credit: Mark Lopez/Argonne National Laboratory

From blacksmiths forging iron to artisans blowing glass, humans have for centuries been changing the properties of materials to build better tools. In modern life, new materials are created to improve today’s items, such as stronger steel for skyscrapers and more reliable semiconductors for cell phones...

A team of physicists that visualized the internal nanostructure of an intact butterfly wing has discovered two physical attributes that make those structures so bright and colorful. Credit: © boule1301 / Fotolia

A team of physicists that visualized the internal nanostructure of an intact butterfly wing has discovered 2 physical attributes that make those structures so bright and colorful. “Over millions of years, butterflies have evolved sophisticated cellular mechanisms to grow brightly colored structures, normally for the purpose of camouflage as well as mating,” says A/prof Oleg Shpyrko, Physics, UC SD. “It’s been known for a century that the wings of these beautiful creatures contain what are called photonic crystals, which can reflect light of only a particular color.”

But exactly ho...