News tagged with smart materials

Robotic hand nearly identical to a human one (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- When it comes to finding the single best tool for building, digging, grasping, drawing, writing, and many other tasks, nothing beats the human hand. Human hands have evolved over millions ...

Technology / Hi Tech & Innovation

created Feb 18, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (30) | comments 8 | with audio podcast feature

Network expands to 256 times its original size to bridge the micro and macro worlds

(PhysOrg.com) -- Now that scientists have developed a diverse assortment of nano- and micro-sized devices and materials, one of the biggest challenges is finding a practical way to incorporate them into macroscale ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Apr 15, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (28) | comments 3 | with audio podcast feature

Meta-flex: Your new brand for invisibility clothing

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of physicists are one step closer to creating a Harry Potter-style invisibility cloak, with a new form of material that could also be attached to contact lenses to provide 'perfect' ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Nov 03, 2010 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (27) | comments 10 | with audio podcast

Scientists reach the heights with gecko-inspired tank robot (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have developed a tank-like robot that has the ability to scale smooth walls, opening up a series of applications ranging from inspecting pipes, buildings, aircraft and nuclear ...

Electronics / Robotics

created Oct 31, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (14) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Putting the squeeze on an old material could lead to 'instant on' electronic memory

(PhysOrg.com) -- The technology of storing electronic information - from old cassette tapes to shiny laptop computers - has been a major force in the electronics industry for decades.

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 16, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (12) | comments 1

New Smart Material Bends Under Internal Heat Source

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have developed a new smart material that can bend under the influence of an internal heat source. The material could be used as an aerodynamic flap in cars, in order to stabilize ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Feb 06, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (11) | comments 6 feature

Self-assembling structures open door to new class of materials

Researchers at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University have demonstrated bio-inspired structures that self-assemble from simple building blocks: spheres.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Jan 13, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Trains’ vibrations could provide power for monitoring tunnels

(PhysOrg.com) -- Traffic tunnels are often built in some of the most rugged and remote areas, which subjects them to extreme environmental forces while making them difficult to access. Ideally, the structural ...

Technology / Engineering

created Aug 08, 2011 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (6) | comments 4 | with audio podcast feature

Jellyfish inspires latest ocean-powered robot (w/ video)

American researchers have created a robotic jellyfish, named Robojelly, which not only exhibits characteristics ideal to use in underwater search and rescue operations, but could, theoretically at least, never ...

Technology / Engineering

created Mar 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

An about-face on electrical conductivity at the interface

(PhysOrg.com) -- To improve the electronic devices that keep our modern, hyper-connected world organized, scientists are on the hunt for new semiconductor materials, which control the flow of electricity that ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Nov 15, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New 'smart' material could help tap medical potential of tissue-penetrating light

Scientists are reporting development and successful initial testing of the first practical "smart" material that may supply the missing link in efforts to use in medicine a form of light that can penetrate ...

Chemistry / Polymers

created Nov 16, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Vise Squad: Putting the Squeeze on a Crystal Leads to Novel Electronics

(PhysOrg.com) -- A clever materials science technique that uses a silicon crystal as a sort of nanoscale vise to squeeze another crystal into a more useful shape may launch a new class of electronic devices ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created May 06, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Shear stiffness and friction mechanics of single-layer graphene measured for the first time

Researchers from the University of Bristol have measured and identified for the first time the stress and strain shear modulus and internal friction of graphene sheets. Graphene is a material that has many ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Feb 14, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

'Seeding' the next generation of smart materials

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at CSIRO have developed a simple but effective technique for growing and adding value to an exciting new group of smart materials which could be used in areas such as optical sensing ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Mar 18, 2011 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Spider silk glue inspires next-generation technology

(PhysOrg.com) -- Water affects orb spider web glue differently than cobweb glue. Orb web glue reacts to humidity, but cobweb glue resists it. These findings by a University of Akron research team inspire the ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jul 22, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast