Materials Science

Materials Science

To make bronze, tin flakes do a wild dance

Upsetting some prevailing ideas about how alloys form, rafts of tin atoms jitterbug madly around on a pure copper surface and leave spots of bronze in their wakes.

Materials Science

Charging gold with a single electron

Dropping a single electron onto a gold atom with a scanning tunneling microscope converts gold from its neutral state to an ionic state.

Materials Science

Diatom Menagerie

Materials scientists are trying to coerce diatoms into making silicon-based microdevices with specific features.

Materials Science

DNA coordinates assembly of glassy nanoscale structures

Chemists use DNA as a scaffold to construct miniature rings and rods out of silica.

Materials Science

Cool Magnet: A little bit of iron gives magnetic refrigeration a boost

An improved material moves magnetic refrigeration one step closer to commercial reality.

Materials Science

Nice Threads

Once researchers figure out how to spin strong fibers out of carbon nanotubes, real-world applications such as long-distance power-transmission cables, lightweight aircraft materials, and electronic textiles become feasible.

Materials Science

Branching Out: Semiconducting nanotrees could boost electronics

Forests of semiconducting nanotrees could form the basis of future solar cells, low-energy lighting, and other optical or microelectronic devices.

Materials Science

Next High-Tech Polishing Fluid: Tea—A new brew for the computer industry

A concoction based on green tea may speed up manufacturing of precision components for computer hard-disk drives while reducing toxic wastes.

Materials Science

Crafty Carriers: Armoring vesicles for more precise and reliable drug delivery

Materials scientists are designing tough, microscopic drug-delivery vesicles that could reach their targets intact and release their cargoes on cue.

Materials Science

High-temperature ceramics takes flight

A recent NASA flight test of ultrahigh-temperature ceramic materials might lead to a new aerospace design that would make the space shuttle look downright old-fashioned.

Materials Science

Scientists tone down silicon rockers

Researchers have created pairs of silicon atoms that stay level instead of slowly rocking in place, permitting scientists to study silicon-surface reactions in unprecedented detail.

Materials Science

Crystal puts pressure on diamonds

A new type of synthetic crystal called moissanite allows researchers to study more material at high pressure than is possible with traditional diamond devices.