-
South Korea develops homemade stealth technology
While the United States keeps a close eye on work by Shina, Russia, and India on stealth technology, South Korea announces it has mastered the technology
-
-
Better bullet-proof vests with advanced fiber weaves
Manchester University researchers say that bullet-proof vests used to protect the lives of police officers could be further improved with advanced fiber weaves
-
-
New anti-crime approach: vigilant windows
Windows are coated with special polymer which contains nanoparticles that convert light into fluorescent radiation; this radiation is channeled to the edges of the window where it is detected by sensors; when a person approaches the window, the sensors wirelessly relay this currency information to a computer program, which alerts security officials of the potential intruder
-
-
A simpler route to invisibility
Two years ago Duke University researchers built an invisibility cloak — a device that can make objects vanish from sight, at least when viewed using a narrow band of microwave frequencies; researchers now show how to create cloaks that work across a wider range of frequencies
-
-
Acoustic cloak silences nuisance noise
Spanish researchers prove metamaterials can be designed to produce an acoustic cloak — a cloak that can make objects impervious to sound waves
-
-
New class of meterials offers many benefits
Microspheres to carry hydrogen, deliver drugs, filter gases, and detect nuclear weapons development
-
-
"Fibrous" steel withstands extremely cold temperatures
Steel is very strong, except that in cold temperatures it becomes brittle; new method of making steel withstand cold temperatures could make steel structures in Arctic areas, like ships or oil rigs, cheaper to construct
-
-
Breakthrough: Dramatic increase in thermoelectric efficiency achieved
Two hundred years ago scientists discovered the thermoelectric effect: Certain materials can convert heat into electricity and vice versa; trouble is, most materials which conduct electricity also conduct heat, so their temperature equalizes quickly; until now: Boston College, MIT researchers solve this vexing problem
-
-
New material captures carbon dioxide
Georgie Tech researchers developed material which captures CO2 from the chimneys of coal-fired power plants and other generators of the greenhouse gases
-
-
European consortium to make RFID tags more affordable
To make RFID more popular, there is a need to make them cheaper; a team of major technology companies is confident that the cost will be reduced once the tags can be printed because electrically conductive and semiconducting plastics can be used in high-volume printing processes
-
-
Invisibility cloak for nanoparticles designed
Researchers design invisibility cloak for nanoparticles; the new particle invisibility cloak will help create a vast array of new material technologies that combine unknown property combinations such as strength and durability with optical transparency
-
-
Sea cucumber inspires new plastic for body armor, brain implants
Sea cucumbers’ skin is usually supple, allowing them to slide through narrow spaces between rocks and corals; when touched, however, a defensive reaction makes their skin go rigid in seconds, thanks to enzymes that bind protein fibers together; researchers apply this process to clothing, creating garments which switch stiffness in response to a pulse of electricity
-
-
Nano-bristle clothes to generate power from body motions
Yellow Jackets researcher develops energy-generating fiber: If clothes are made from this piezoelectric fabric, the wearer’s body motions would produce useful amounts of power
-
-
Day of ultra-clean engine nears
One of the major obstacles facing the development of ultra-clean car engines is the need for permanent-magnet electric motors to operate well at temperatures up to 200 degrees Celsius; Iowa researchers offer a way to create such magnets
-
-
Breakthrough: Acoustic cloak theoretically possible
Invisibility cloak — deflecting microwaves around a cloaked object and restoring them on the other side, as if they had passed through empty space — has already been demonstrated; Duke researcher now shows that an acoustic cloak is theoretically feasible: Sound waves would travel seamlessly around the cloaked object and emerge on the other side without distortion; submarines could be hidden from sonar
-
More headlines
The long view
U.S. Energy Supply Chains Are Unlikely to Meet Anticipated Demand
By Danielle McKenna
The U.S. fast-growing energy demands for clean energy sources faces a problem: Under current supply chain conditions, the United States is on track to fall significantly short of surging demand for three clean energy sources: wind, solar, and battery. The shortage is due to the scarcity of critical raw materials such as nickel, aluminum, and silicon.
