Posted on October 1st, 2010 by jxh
What if newspapers worked interactively like computer screens, with continually updated headlines, photos and videos (similar to the animated newspapers in the wizarding world of Harry Potter)?
Well soon they might. The Taiwan-based Industrial Technology Research Institute has produced flexible displays that can be bent, rolled and folded like a sheet of paper.
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Filed under: Computer, e-News, Materials | 6 Comments »
Tags: Computer, Materials, Technology
Posted on September 28th, 2010 by axb
Wonder Woman has been jetting around in an invisible plane since 1942. Now, sometime this century, the rest of us non-superheros might be able to do so, as well.
Not for those with easily-induced vertigo, a future Airbus passenger plane would have the ability to turn its fuselage (the main body of the airplane) completely transparent. Next time your captain turns on the fasten seatbelt light, he or she might next announce that the cabin is about to…disappear from sight!
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Filed under: e-News, Explore Engineering, Materials, Transportation | 3 Comments »
Tags: Aeronautics, Materials, Transportation
Posted on September 22nd, 2010 by axb
Human skin is extraordinarily sensitive – our fingertips can perceive extremely small differences in pressure, texture, and temperature. Mimicking this ability artificially is a real technological challenge, but fortunately electrical engineers at Stanford and UC Berkeley seem to be up to the task.
At Stanford, a team led by chemical engineering professor Zhenan Bao has developed an artificial skin that is reportedly over 1,000 times more sensitive than its human counterpart. It consists of a thin rubber material placed between two parallel electrodes. When an object touches the skin and compresses the rubber, the surrounding electrodes register this pressure and convert it to electrical signals.
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Filed under: Biomedical, Chemical, e-News, Electrical, Materials | Comments Off on Engineering Artificial Skin
Tags: Biomedical, Chemical, Electrical, Materials, Nanotechnology, Robotics
Posted on September 19th, 2010 by axb
Winter temperatures in Astana, the new capital of Kazakhstan, are extremely frigid, averaging around negative 31 degrees Fahrenheit. But in summer, the mercury regularly soars to a sizzling 95 degrees. So when top British architect Norman Foster designed Astana’s newly-opened Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center, he opted for a unique energy-efficient material that would accommodate both seasonal extremes.
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Filed under: Architectural, e-News, Environmental, Materials | 9 Comments »
Tags: Architectural, Environmental, Materials
Posted on August 15th, 2010 by jxh
Biomimicry is back again, and this time butterflies are the source of imitation.
The Morpho butterfly possesses acute chemical-sensing abilities thanks to nano-level structures underneath the colorful scales on its wings.
The submicroscopic structures can pick up even the smallest trace of airborne chemicals and the exposure changes the spectral reflectivity of the butterfly’s wings.
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Filed under: Chemical, e-News, Materials | 2 Comments »
Tags: Biomimicry, Chemical, Defense, Materials, Nanotechnology
