Engineering and Construction News

August 25, 2016

Feeling the Force Between Sand Grains

The First Autonomous, Entirely Soft Robot

Nanofur for Oil Spill Cleanup

Sponge Creates Steam Using Ambient Sunlight

Latest Headlines

updated 10:43pm EDT

Underground Radar Used to Locate Post-Katrina Damage

Aug. 25, 2016 — An innovative underground radar technology is helping the City of Slidell in south Louisiana to identify and document underground infrastructure damage that had gone ... read more

Promising Route to the Scalable Production of Highly Crystalline Graphene Films

Aug. 25, 2016 — Researchers discovered a procedure to restore defective graphene oxide structures that cause the material to display low ... read more

Glass: Engineer Discovers a High-Speed Nano-Avalanche

Aug. 24, 2016 — Researchers have new findings on the process involving transformations in glass that occur under intense electrical and thermal conditions. New understanding of these ... read more

Bio-Inspired Tire Design: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Aug. 24, 2016 — Scientists have recently created new bio-inspired film-terminated structures with unique friction characteristics that could have positive industrial implications for, among ... read more

'Ideal' Energy Storage Material for Electric Vehicles Developed

Aug. 22, 2016 — The goal of a polymer dielectric material with high energy density, high power density and excellent charge-discharge efficiency for electric and hybrid vehicle use has been ... read more

'4-D Printing' a New Dimension for Additive Manufacturing

Aug. 23, 2016 — Researchers have demonstrated the 3-D printing of shape-shifting structures that can fold or unfold to reshape themselves when exposed to heat or electricity, an approach ... read more

New Approach to Determining How Atoms Are Arranged in Materials

Aug. 23, 2016 — Researchers have developed a novel approach to characterizing how atoms are arranged in materials, using Bayesian statistical methods to glean new insights into the structure of materials. The work ... read more

Stretchy Supercapacitors Power Wearable Electronics

Aug. 23, 2016 — A future of soft robots or smart T-shirts may depend on the development of stretchy power sources. But traditional batteries are thick and rigid -- not ideal properties for ... read more

Researchers Reduce Expensive Noble Metals for Fuel Cell Reactions

Aug. 22, 2016 — Researchers have developed a novel nanomaterial that could improve the performance and lower the costs of fuel cells by using fewer precious metals like platinum ... read more

New Flexible Material Can Make Any Window 'Smart'

Aug. 22, 2016 — Scientists have developed a new low-temperature process for coating a new smart material on plastic. At the heart of the team's study is their rare insight into the ... read more

'Quantum Leap' For China Satellite

Facebook Opens Lab To Design Hardware, Gadgets

Machine Mixes Hands-on Sculpting With 3D Printing

Dutch Architect Unveils 3D Printer to Make 'endless' House

Designing Ultrasound Tools With Lego-Like Proteins

Aug. 25, 2016 — Ultrasound imaging is used around the world to help visualize developing babies and diagnose diseases. Sound waves bounce off the tissues, revealing their different densities and shapes. The next ... read more

'Artificial Atom' Created in Graphene

Aug. 22, 2016 — When they are confined to a small space, the behavior of electrons can only be explained by quantum physics. Much like electrons in an atom, they are forced into discrete quantum states. These states ... read more

New Theory Could Lead to New Generation of Energy Friendly Optoelectronics

Aug. 22, 2016 — Researchers have created a new theoretical framework which could help physicists and device engineers design better optoelectronics, leading to less heat generation and power consumption in ... read more

Squid, Jellyfish and Wrinkled Skin Inspire Materials for Anti-Glare Screens and Encryption

Aug. 21, 2016 — What do squid and jellyfish skin have in common with human skin? All three have inspired a team of chemists to create materials that change color or texture in response to variations in their ... read more

Spider Silk: Mother Nature's Bio-Superlens

Aug. 19, 2016 — Hot on the heels of a paper revealing that a team of researchers has used a nanobead-derived superlens to break the perceived resolution barrier, the same team has achieved another world first by ... read more

Scientists Have Created a Ceramic, Resistant to Extreme Temperatures

Aug. 19, 2016 — Scientists managed to create a new multi-layered ceramic material with heat resistance of the upper layer of more than 3,000 degrees ... read more

Using Nature's Recipe to Create Mother of Pearl

Aug. 18, 2016 — Researchers have created a synthetic nacre remarkably similar to the natural material, which is also known as mother of pearl, though their synthetic version forms in weeks instead of months or ... read more

Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes Could Cut Energy in Hydrocarbon Separations

Aug. 18, 2016 — A research team has demonstrated a new carbon-based molecular sieve membrane that could dramatically reduce the energy required to separate a class of hydrocarbon molecules known as alkyl ... read more

Natural Scale Caterpillar Soft Robot Is Powered and Controlled With Light

Aug. 18, 2016 — Researchers, using the liquid crystal elastomer technology have demonstrated a bioinspired micro-robot capable of mimicking caterpillar gaits in natural scale. The 15-millimeter long soft robot ... read more

Origin of High-Temperature Superconductivity in Copper-Oxide Compound Uncovered

Aug. 17, 2016 — Physicists have an explanation for why certain materials can conduct electricity without resistance at temperatures well above those required by conventional superconductors. Understanding this ... read more

New Method to Identify Microscopic Failure in Polymers Before Total Failure Occurs.

Aug. 17, 2016 — Scientists have recently found a new way to identify microscopic damage in polymers and composite materials before total failure ... read more

Researchers Test-Bed New Bendable Concrete That Is Stronger and More Durable

Aug. 17, 2016 — A new concrete has been developed to reduce the time needed for road works by more than half, report scientists. This innovation allows the creation of slim precast pavement slabs for quick ... read more

Scientists Explore Oil Clean-Up Properties of Aquatic Ferns

Aug. 17, 2016 — Certain varieties of aquatic floating weeds demonstrate an impressive ability to selectively absorb oil from contaminated water. These plants, which are often regarded as a nuisance, could in fact ... read more

Genetically Modified Soil Bacteria Work as Electrical Wires

Aug. 16, 2016 — Scientists have genetically modified a common soil bacteria to create electrical wires that not only conduct electricity, but are thousands of times thinner than a human ... read more

Transparent Wood Windows Are Cooler Than Glass: Study

Aug. 16, 2016 — Engineers demonstrate in a new study that windows made of transparent wood could provide more even and consistent natural lighting and better energy efficiency than ... read more

Hexagonal Boron Nitride Semiconductors Enable Cost-Effective Detection of Neutron Signals

Aug. 16, 2016 — Researchers have developed an alternative material -- hexagonal boron nitride semiconductors -- for neutron detection. This material fulfills many key requirements for helium gas detector ... read more

Researchers Resolve a Problem That Has Been Holding Back a Technological Revolution

Aug. 16, 2016 — Researchers have cleared that obstacle by developing a new way to purify carbon nanotubes -- the smaller, nimbler semiconductors that are expected to replace silicon within computer chips and a wide ... read more

Solid Batteries Improve Safety

Aug. 16, 2016 — A new lithium-ion battery made entirely of solid material has been developed by scientists. They report that it contains neither liquids nor gels. The battery cannot ignite, even at very high ... read more

'Sniffer Plasmons' Could Detect Explosives

Aug. 15, 2016 — Scientists have proposed a graphene-based spaser that can 'sniff out' a single molecule, which could be used to detect even small amounts of various substances, including ... read more

Legions of Nanorobots Target Cancerous Tumors With Precision

Aug. 15, 2016 — Researchers have just achieved a spectacular breakthrough in cancer research. They have developed new nanorobotic agents capable of navigating through the bloodstream to administer a drug with ... read more

Thursday, August 25, 2016