Lubing up industry, the natural way
Sesame oil might make a viable and sustainable alternative to mineral oil as an industrial lubricant, according to research published in the International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology.
May 08, 2017
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Nano-level lubricant tuning improves material for electronic devices and surface coatings
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), which is ubiquitously used as a solid lubricant, has recently been shown to have a two-dimensional (2D) form that is similar to graphene. But, when thinned down to less than a nanometer thick, ...
Metallic glass gears make for graceful robots
Throw a baseball, and you might say it's all in the wrist.
Graphene-based nanolubricants could grease automotive industrys future
Recent research has shown that adding nanoparticles to liquids significantly enhances some of their properties. "Nanofluids" have been synthesised using carbon nanotubes and various metallic, oxide and ceramic nanoparticles. ...
Metals smart enough to save gas
Imagine engines that conserve fuel by automatically dialing down internal friction, water pipes that seal their own cracks and iPhones that protect themselves when dropped. Metallurgist Pradeep Rohatgi has – and he invented ...
Team devises easier way to make 'bijels,' a complex new form of liquid matter
Oil and water famously don't mix, but finely dispersing one in the other produces a liquid mixture with many useful properties. An emulsion consisting of tiny droplets of one of those liquids immersed in the other is the ...
Liquid crystal as lubricant
Thanks to a new lubricant, small gears can run with virtually no friction. Made from liquid crystalline fluid, these lubricants drastically reduce friction and wear.
Using nature as a model for low-friction bearings
The mechanical properties of natural joints are considered unrivalled. Cartilage is coated with a special polymer layer allowing joints to move virtually friction-free, even under high pressure. Using simulations on Jülich's ...
Water found to be an ideal lubricant for nanomachines
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam have discovered that machines just one molecule in size move far quicker if you add a 'lubricant' to their surroundings. To their surprise, water proved to be the best lubricant ...
Melting water's lubricating effect on glaciers has only 'minor' role in future sea-level rise
Scientists had feared that melt-water which trickles down through the ice could dramatically speed up the movement of glaciers as it acts as a lubricant between the ice and the ground it moves over.
