Superconductors make highly efficient electronics, but the ultralow temperatures and ultrahigh pressures make them costly and difficult to use. Room-temperature superconductors promise to change that.
3D printers can lay down more than just layers of melted plastic.
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Organ models that more accurately capture finer details could reduce surgical error and lead to personalized implants.
Magnetic levitation is just one of the interesting attributes that make superconductors so interesting.
Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library vie Getty Images
Superconductors are materials that can transmit electricity without any resistance. Researchers are getting closer to creating superconducting materials that can function in everyday life.
Researchers discovered a way to turn superglue into strong, clear plastic that can be made into many shapes.
Allison Christy
Graphene is superstrong and superconductive, and it has applications in everything from construction to electronics. But to date there have been almost no commercial uses of the material.
This connection of springs is a new type of material that can change shape and learn new properties.
Jonathan Hopkins
Ryan H. Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
Computer-based neural networks can learn to do tasks. A new type of material, called a mechanical neural network, applies similar ideas to a physical structure.
An unusual folded shape in a meteorite prompted scientists to dive deep into a rabbit hole – discovering a potential new way to make specially shaped diamonds in the lab.
Most plastic products that are clear and strong are made using bisphenol A, or BPA.
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The US Environmental Protection Agency is reexamining the health effects of bisphenol A. A chemist explains why BPA is in plastics and why it’s hard to find a safe replacement.
Nickel oxide, the gray-and-black-striped material, demonstrates unique properties when exposed to hydrogen.
Purdue University/Kayla Wiles
The ability to store information is central to learning and the field of artificial intelligence. Researchers have shown how a unique material shows basic learning properties similar to that of slugs.
The Curiosity Mars rover, launched in November 2011, is powered by a nuclear battery that relies on thermoelectric materials to turn heat from radioactive decay into electricity.
(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
More than two-thirds of the world’s energy is wasted as heat. Thermoelectric materials can convert unwanted heat into electricity, but finding the best ones has been slow.
The unique properties of clays make them suitable for a wide variety of applications.
(Shutterstock)
Jason Ng, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and Andrea Sedgwick, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Throughout human history, clay has played a role in many different industries. Its unique properties make it suited for a wide applications in widely ranging industries.
Zheng Chen, University of California, San Diego and Darren H. S. Tan, University of California, San Diego
Batteries power much of modern life, from electric and hybrid cars to computers, medical devices and cellphones. But unless they’re made easier and cheaper to recycle, a battery waste crisis looms.
The material that your shirt is made of plays a big role in how hot you feel.
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More companies are selling products that claim to keep you cool on hot days. But it turns out that common materials used in sports clothing may not always be the best.
A smartphone that bends: one day soon this could be your flexible friend.
Shutterstock/Gang Liu
Is it too much to dream of batteries that are part of the structure of an item, helping to shape the form of a smartphone, car or building while also powering its functions?