(Phys.org)—Researcher and team are the first to measure all of the elastic properties of an intact spider's web, drawing a remarkable picture of the behavior of one of nature's most intriguing structures. The work could ...
Materials Science
Feb 6, 2013
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(Phys.org)—Wear is a fact of life. As surfaces rub against one another, they break down and lose their original shape. With less material to start with and functionality that often depends critically on shape and surface ...
Nanophysics
Jan 30, 2013
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MIT engineers have created a new polymer film that can generate electricity by drawing on a ubiquitous source: water vapor.
Nanophysics
Jan 10, 2013
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Many industrial plants depend on water vapor condensing on metal plates: In power plants, the resulting water is then returned to a boiler to be vaporized again; in desalination plants, it yields a supply of clean water. ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 3, 2013
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MIT researchers have produced a new kind of photovoltaic cell based on sheets of flexible graphene coated with a layer of nanowires. The approach could lead to low-cost, transparent and flexible solar cells that could be ...
Nanomaterials
Dec 21, 2012
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For all their promise, solar cells have frustrated scientists in one crucial regard – most are rigid. They must be deployed in stiff, often heavy, fixed panels, limiting their applications. So researchers have been trying ...
Energy & Green Tech
Dec 20, 2012
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(Phys.org)—Advanced ceramic composites can withstand the ultrahigh operational temperatures projected for hypersonic jet and next generation gas turbine engines, but real-time analysis of the mechanical properties of these ...
Materials Science
Dec 10, 2012
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(Phys.org)—Portable, accurate, and highly sensitive devices that sniff out vapors from explosives and other substances could become as commonplace as smoke detectors in public places, thanks to researchers at University ...
Analytical Chemistry
Nov 20, 2012
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A new approach that allows objects to become "invisible" has now been applied to an entirely different area: letting particles "hide" from passing electrons, which could lead to more efficient thermoelectric devices and new ...
General Physics
Oct 12, 2012
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(Phys.org)—Physicists in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT have developed a new theory derived from calculations that suggest it should be possible to construct an electron cloaking device, similar in principle ...
