If you want to form very flexible chains of nanoparticles in liquid in order to build tiny robots with flexible joints or make magnetically self-healing gels, you need to revert to childhood and think about sandcastles.
Nanomaterials
Aug 5, 2015
0
646
Washington State University researchers have developed a new way to use plant oils like olive and linseed oil to create polyurethane, a plastic material used in everything from foam insulation panels to tires, hoses and sealants.
Materials Science
Apr 15, 2015
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43
Anyone who has blown a bubble and seen how quickly it pops has first-hand experience on the major challenge in creating stable foams.
Materials Science
Oct 6, 2014
1
1
A new, absorbable material from Empa wood research could be of assistance in future oil spill accidents: a chemically modified nanocellulose sponge. The light material absorbs the oil spill, remains floating on the surface ...
Materials Science
May 6, 2014
1
0
(Phys.org) —It's an old idea, really. One of the oldest. To make useful things, humans remove the bits that aren't part of the thing we want. We've learned how to then make giant factory machines that assemble the different ...
Engineering
May 13, 2013
5
0
(Phys.org)—The United States could eliminate the need for crude oil by using a combination of coal, natural gas and non-food crops to make synthetic fuel, a team of Princeton researchers has found.
Energy & Green Tech
Nov 28, 2012
15
0
(Phys.org)—Scaling up the production of biofuels made from algae to meet at least 5 percent – about 10 billion gallons – of U.S. transportation fuel needs would place unsustainable demands on energy, water and nutrients, ...
Energy & Green Tech
Nov 2, 2012
7
0
(Phys.org)—It looks like Mother Nature was wasting her time with a multimillion-year process to produce crude oil. Michigan Engineering researchers can "pressure-cook" algae for as little as a minute and transform an unprecedented ...
Materials Science
Oct 31, 2012
2
0
MIT researchers have developed a new technique for magnetically separating oil and water that could be used to clean up oil spills. They believe that, with their technique, the oil could be recovered for use, offsetting much ...
Materials Science
Sep 12, 2012
0
0
(Phys.org)—A smart filter with a shape-shifting surface can separate oil and water using gravity alone, an advancement that could be useful in cleaning up environmental oil spills, among other applications, say its University ...
Materials Science
Aug 29, 2012
4
0
