News tagged with plastic material

Wearable electronics - the next fashion fad?

(Phys.org) -- When most of us think of electronics, we think of the sturdy stability of silicon and plastic. Flexibility is a trait that belongs to the organic world, where materials come in all shapes and ...

Technology / Hi Tech & Innovation

created May 23, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Lightweight construction on the way to volume production

Carmakers and airplane manufacturers are very particular when it comes to the weight of their models: the lighter they are, the less fuel they consume - and the less carbon dioxide they blow into the air. ...

Technology / Engineering

created Apr 23, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 2

Plastic electronics: a neat solution

(Phys.org) -- A breakthrough in the development of a new generation of plastic electronic circuits by researchers at the Cavendish Laboratory brings flexible and transparent intelligent materials – such ...

Technology / Engineering

created Apr 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (12) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Process makes polymers truly plastic

Just as a chameleon changes its color to blend in with its environment, Duke University engineers have demonstrated for the first time that they can alter the texture of plastics on demand, for example, switching ...

Chemistry / Polymers

created Mar 15, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

The gecko walks on sticky pads

As sticky as a gecko. Wageningen UR Veni-researcher Marleen Kamperman tries to stick with plastic material full of microscopic rods.

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Mar 08, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research team develops better iron catalyst to help turn plant material into plastic

(PhysOrg.com) -- As most people know, modern plastics are made from crude oil derivatives, making them vulnerable to price and supply fluctuations, which in the end means an alternative must be found in order for the plastics ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Feb 17, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Amazon fungi found that eat polyurethane, even without oxygen

(PhysOrg.com) -- Until now polyurethane has been considered non-biodegradable, but a group of students from Yale University in the US has found fungi that will not only eat and digest it, they will do so even in the absence ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (47) | comments 27 | with audio podcast report

Researchers study why metals fail

(PhysOrg.com) -- The eventual failure of metals, such as the aluminum in ships and airplanes, can often be blamed on breaks, or voids, in the material's atomic lattice. They're at first invisible, only microns in size, but ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Jan 24, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Products of biotechnological origin using vegetable and fruit by-products generated by the industry

More than 192 million tonnes of fruit and vegetable waste is produced in Europe every year. The continued use of oil as a raw material is a serious obstacle in the way of sustainable industrial development, ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Swiss chemists emulate cheese rind to create self-cleaning surface material

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cheese lovers know that the milky white outer coating of Camembert cheese not only serves to offer a tart offset to the pungent inner cheese, but also protects it until ready to be eaten, ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jan 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast report

Spider know-how could cut future energy costs

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Oxford University and The University of Sheffield have demonstrated that natural silks are a thousand times more efficient than common plastics when it comes to forming fibres.  

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Nov 24, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (9) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

When it comes to churning out electrons, metal glass beats plastics

By adding carbon nanotubes to a glass-like metal compound, researchers have devised a new breed of field emission electrodes. This technology, which produces a stream of electrons, may have promising applications in the consumer ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Nov 21, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Hong Kong seizes record haul of rhino horns

Hong Kong Customs officers have seized a record haul of 33 rhino horns along with ivory chopsticks and bracelets hidden inside a container shipped from South Africa, officials said on Tuesday.

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 15, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Research team has developed a fully functional flexible memory

The team of Professor Keon Jae Lee (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST) has developed fully functional flexible non-volatile resistive random access memory (RRAM) where a memory cell can ...

Technology / Semiconductors

created Nov 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Batteries get a quick charge with new anode technology

(PhysOrg.com) -- A breakthrough in components for next-generation batteries could come from special materials that transform their structure to perform better over time.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Nov 03, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (19) | comments 24