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Archive for the ‘materials’ category: Page 263

Feb 8, 2017

World’s First 3D Printed Concrete Pedestrian Bridge Opens in Spain

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, materials

3D printed bridge in Spain. Could this some day be our answer to reducing costs around US state and county infrastructure costs related to bridges and other structural repairs related to infrastructure?


The pedestrian crossing 3D-printed bridge installed in the urban park of Castilla La Mancha in Madrid, Spain, back in December is now ready to be used.

The 39-foot-long bridge was printed in micro-reinforced concrete at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.

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Feb 4, 2017

MIT Researchers Develop a Tough Hydrogel Hybrid That Never Dries Out

Posted by in categories: futurism, materials

Constantly changing contact lenses is annoying and tedious. MIT developed a new hydrogel that could be the future of longer lasting contacts.

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Feb 3, 2017

Water-based and biocompatible 2D inks for printed electronics

Posted by in categories: electronics, materials

Luv this.


Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a method of producing water-based and inkjet printable 2D material inks, which could bring 2D crystal heterostructures from the lab into real-world products.

Examples include efficient light detectors, and devices that are able to store information encoded in binary form which have been demonstrated, in collaboration with the University of Pisa.

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Feb 3, 2017

This graphene dress lights up when you breathe

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, materials

Wonder which 3D printer she used?


Together with scientists, fashion designers have used graphene — a Nobel-Prize winning material that’s tougher than diamonds — to give their LBD a high-tech cut.

“We are trying to showcase the amazing properties of graphene,” Francesca Rosella, the co-founder of fashion company CuteCircuit, told CNN.

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Feb 3, 2017

Graphene Infrared Eye Needs No Signal Amplification

Posted by in category: materials

Graphene is extremely versatile and ideal for biosensor technology, BMI, etc. we really have just began understanding its capabilities.


An international team of researchers under the umbrella of the EU-funded Graphene Flagship have taken a significant step in thermal infrared (IR) photodetctors with the development of the most sensitive uncooled graphene-based thermal detector yet fabricated. These new photodetectors, known as bolometers, are so sensitive that they can register the presence of a scant few nanowatts of radiation. That level of radiation is about a thousandth of what would be given off by a hand waving in front of the detector.

In the research described in the journal Nature Communications, scientists from the University of Cambridge, UK; the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), Spain; the University of Ioannina, Greece; and from Nokia and Emberion found that the combination of graphene and pyroelectric materials—which generate a voltage when they are heated or cooled—yields a unique synergy that boosts the performance of thermal photodetectors.

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Feb 1, 2017

Transparent gel-based robots can catch and release live fish

Posted by in categories: materials, robotics/AI

A new technology for cleaning and maintaining your aquarium as well as useful for zoos, public aquariums, etc.

A new technology for fishing industry and hobbyists.1092647.htm


Engineers at MIT have fabricated transparent, gel-based robots that move when water is pumped in and out of them. The bots can perform a number of fast, forceful tasks, including kicking a ball underwater, and grabbing and releasing a live fish.

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Jan 29, 2017

Has The ‘Holy Grail’ Of Solid Metallic Hydrogen Finally Been Created?

Posted by in categories: materials, space travel

Another write up on last week’s news on the Hydrogen metal discovery. Definitely impacting many industries tech, auto, construction/ building materials, etc.


It’s been over 80 years since the idea of metallic hydrogen was first theorized.

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Jan 29, 2017

Textile muscles could find use in a literal “power suit”

Posted by in categories: cyborgs, materials

There are many people who could use a bit of help moving their limbs, but they don’t necessarily need a full-on exoskeleton. Well, imagine if their clothes could provide that help. Such a thing may one day be possible, thanks to the recent creation of “textile muscles.”

In a study conducted at Sweden’s Linköping University and University of Borås, scientists coated mass-producible cellulose yarn with a flexible electroactive polymer known as polypyrrole.

When a low voltage is applied to the polymer, it increases in volume, causing the yarn fibers to increase in length accordingly – when the electrical current is switched off, the fibers retract back to their original length. By varying the manner in which those fibers are woven together, it’s possible to tune the force of the material toward different tasks.

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Jan 28, 2017

Making metallic hydrogen at Harvard

Posted by in category: materials

Nearly a century after it was theorized, Harvard scientists have succeeded in creating metallic hydrogen. In addition to helping scientists answer fundamental questions about the nature of matter, the material is theorized to have a wide range of applications, ranging from room-temperature superconductors to powerful rocket propellant.

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Jan 27, 2017

Nanometric Imprinting on Fiber

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, materials

Researchers at EPFL’s Laboratory of Photonic Materials and Fibre Devices, which is run by Fabien Sorin, have come up with a simple and innovative technique for drawing or imprinting complex, nanometric patterns on hollow polymer fibers. Their work has been published in Advanced Functional Materials.

The potential applications of this breakthrough are numerous. The imprinted designs could be used to impart certain optical effects on a fiber or make it water-resistant. They could also guide stem–cell growth in textured fiber channels or be used to break down the fiber at a specific location and point in time in order to release drugs as part of a smart bandage.

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