Circa 2017 face_with_colon_three
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed a form of concrete that is able to stretch without breaking, making it better able to resist the kind of forces produced by earth movements.
Category: materials – Page 250
For the first time, scientists can see how the brain records our memories as we sleep
(CNN) — Scientists have long known our brains need sleep to review the day’s events and transfer them into longer-term memories. Students are often told to study just before turning in to maximize their recall of material for a test the next day.
But the exact way in which the brain stores our memories is poorly understood.
Now for the first time, tiny microelectrodes planted inside the brains of two people show just how the brain’s neurons fire during sleep to “replay” our short-term memories in order to move them into more permanent storage. The study was published Tuesday in the journal Cell Reports.
World Is Running Out Of Sand — Why There’s Now A Black Market For It
👽 We are running out of sand, Find out why.
Fyodor R.
If you’re planning a beach vacation, you’d better get to it soon. An alarming statistic for you: 67% of Southern California beaches? GONE by 2100. All because of sand. Even if you don’t think about the grainy stuff, you use it daily. You’re reading this off something made with sand, looking at it through a screen made with sand, surrounded by buildings made with concrete. I could let you guess what’s in concrete, but I suspect you’re already catching onto a theme here.
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Temporal Supersymmetry Breakthrough Paves Way to Omnidirectional Invisible Materials
A team at UPV’s Nanophotonics Technology Center has discovered a new fundamental symmetry in electromagnetism, acoustics and elasticity laws: a temporal supersymmetry.
According to Carlos García Meca and Andrés Macho Ortiz, researchers at NTC-UPV, this new symmetry allows the conservation of the linear moment between dramatically different physical systems. This paves the way to designing pioneering optical, acoustic and elastic devices, including invisible omnidirectional, polarization-independent materials, ultra-compact frequency shifters, isolators and pulse-shape transformers.
“These devices allow us to unusually modify different properties of light signals inside photonic circuits to process the spread of information. This is vital in communication systems. Moreover, we can adapt the functionality of those devices to the requirements at any time, as they are dynamically configurable,” explained Carlos García Meca.
Israeli disinfectant kills 100% of viruses, bacteria
A state-of-the-art disinfectant developed by the Israel Institute for Biological Research and distributed by Tera Novel is capable of killing 100% of bacteria, viruses, molds and some fungi, including the novel coronavirus.
“Our disinfectant works in a very different way from many others,” Tera Novel chairwoman Karen Cohen Khazon told The Jerusalem Post. “We also use hypochlorite, but in a very high [concentration] and we add some [additional ingredients] so that anywhere the disinfectant is sprayed, it becomes a very white film of gel which keeps the [material] on the surface for a while.”
Alloy clear for use in high-temperature reactors
Alloy 617 — a combination of nickel, chromium, cobalt and molybdenum — has been approved by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for inclusion in its Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. This means the alloy, which was tested by Idaho National Laboratory (INL), can be used in proposed molten salt, high-temperature, gas-cooled or sodium reactors. It is the first new material to be added to the Code in 30 years.
The Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code lays out design rules for how much stress is acceptable and specifies the materials that can be used for power plant construction, including in nuclear power plants. Adhering to these specifications ensures component safety and performance.
INL spent 12 years qualifying Alloy 617, with a USD15 million investment from the US Department of Energy. A team at INL, in collaboration with groups at Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as well as industry consultants and international partners, has now received approval from ASME for the alloy’s inclusion in the Code. Designers working on new high-temperature nuclear power plant concepts now have more options when it comes to component construction materials.
Russian ‘Superman suit’ protects soldiers from explosions, fire
Russian scientists have unveiled a “Superman suit” they claim lets the wearer walk through fire and grenade blasts unscathed.
Vladimir Putin’s military says the suit is made of a heat-resistant “aramid” type material that can withstand half a minute of direct flame contact.
The heatproof suit, part of the country’s Ratnik program is expected to be ready for use by 2020.
Laser-Propulsion of Graphene Sails in Microgravity
Graphene light sail of 3mm in diameter with a mass of 0.25 mg ‘sets sail’ when pointed with a 1W laser. The prototype has a graphene micromembrane design that reduces the overall mass while keeping functional the complete area of the sail. Credit: Dr. Santiago Jose Cartamil-Bueno.
Overseas exploration and trade during the Age of Discovery (15th-17th centuries) were possible by sail technology, and deep-space exploration will require the same for the coming Age of NewSpace. This time, however, the new sails shall move with light instead of wind, for which these light sails need to be extremely large, thin, lightweight, reflective, and strong.
In a light-hearted leap for humankind, ESA-backed researchers demonstrate the laser-propulsion of graphene sails in microgravity.