Researchers explore how impacts 'break in' a new planet

The harder you hit something—a ball, a walnut, a geode—the more likely it is to break open. Or, if it does not break open, it's more likely to at least lose a little bit of its structural integrity, the way new baseball ...

Deep earthquakes suggest well-hydrated Mariana subduction zone

On the surface, subduction zones manifest as oceanic trenches, the deepest of which is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. One notable feature of many trenches is their outer rise, a shallow bulge on the outskirts of ...

Strain-sensing smart skin ready to deploy

A strain-sensing smart skin developed at Rice University that uses very small structures, carbon nanotubes, to monitor and detect damage in large structures is ready for prime time.

Self-healing concrete could multiply lifespans of structures

Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) are using an enzyme found in red blood cells to create self-healing concrete that is four times more durable than traditional concrete, extending the life of concrete-based ...

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