Materials Science
- Materials Science
Nanotubes take on the Grand Canyon
A new technique can turn forests of carbon nanotubes into a foamlike material with ideal properties for making lightweight shock absorbers.
- Materials Science
Tiny Trouble: Nanoscale materials damage fish brains
Although nanomaterials could one day lead to more powerful electronics and better medicines, new research shows these tiny materials can also be toxic to fish.
- Materials Science
Forensics on Trial
A decades-long practice of matching bullets on the basis of their chemical makeup is flawed, and the story behind this forensic technique reveals how science can get distorted in the courtroom.
- Materials Science
New work improves stainless steel surface
A novel electrochemical method improves the surface of stainless steel without making the metal brittle or prone to corrosion.
- Materials Science
Cinching nanotubes into tough fibers
Irradiating bundles of carbon nanotubes can lead to tougher fibers.
- Materials Science
Hard Stuff: Cooked diamonds don’t dent
When exposed to high heat and pressure, single-crystal diamonds become extraordinarily hard.
- Materials Science
Light whips platinum into shape
Scientists are exploiting the molecular machinery behind photosynthesis to create unique nanostructures out of platinum.
- Materials Science
Pumping Carbon: Researchers watch nanofibers grow
The first atomic-scale movies of carbon nanofiber growth show particles of a metal catalyst pulsating wildly while carbon and metal atoms scuttle across the particle’s surface.
- Materials Science
Flexible E-Paper: Plastic circuits drive paperlike displays
In a major step toward electronic paper, researchers have made electronic-ink displays on flexible plastic sheets.
- Materials Science
Nanotube implants could aid brain research
Electrically conducting carbon nanotubes could be the ideal material for probing the brain and treating neural disorders.
- Materials Science
Marine Superglue: Mussels get stickiness from iron in seawater
The secret behind the binding power of mussel glue lies in iron extracted from seawater.
- Materials Science
Nanowires grow on viral templates
Researchers are using viruses to assemble semiconducting nanowires—the building blocks of future electronic circuits.
