Flying Carpet

Flying Carpet



Imagine a plastic version of this fish and you have the plastic flying carpet!



I knew it was just a matter of time before material scientists of our time rediscovered ancient Arabic knowledge. Carpets CAN fly! Duh! ;-)

Materials That Marvel

Materials That Marvel



Nanotechnology is absolutely fascinating.


Complex patterns in liquid crystals.
Above is an images that shows how the tiles in a liquid crystal can be of many different shapes and colors, forming periodic patterns of high complexity. On nano scales!

Beyond Sustainability

Beyond Sustainability



Here is where you can learn a hell of a lot about the latest approaches on sustainability - and beyond!

The library will be continuously updated with links and references to good readings on the topic. So, feel free to send me links.

Flight Physics

Pressure Fingerprint A La Hippie



Credit:Arnold Air Force Base

Pressure-sensitive paint can tell engineers what parts of a plane or shuttle are getting buffeted the most.



The Paint Says It All.

Silk Fibre Formation

Silk Science





Silk is an interesting material, not just because of its beauty, but for scientific reasons as well. Ah, the things we can do with fancy x-rays! :-)

Corrosion Cracks

Steel for Real



Credit: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

Renderings showing four steps during the propagation of a stress corrosion crack. Bridges across the crack are seen as "holes" in the crack surface.



Understanding your material is a question of economy and often security. Corrosion of material is something that has to go into the equation when building various constructions such as oil pipelines. Small changes in the composition of a material make huges differences.

By x-raying your material, that is what you do at the ESRF, you get lots of information about your material's behavior. Did you know by the way, that synchrotron radiation was an unwanted side effect at the more famous large research facility, CERN? I might have mentioned it before. :-)

Space Material

Space For Society



Credit: Speedo

Sports are an important societal activity on many levels. In Norway we consider sports as part of culture and we all know sports are good for our health. Watching sports can be healthy too. All the excitement and joy one can experience by just being a spectator are good for both heart and mind.

I ran a relay marathon this week-end and one of the reason I do this every year is the the free high-tech running gear I get from the sponsors. I tried to give something back like pointing out that the moon was eclipsing right over the stage at the outdoors concert we all attended after the marathon. They responded by saying that all I cared about was the moon, not the concert...:-)

Material science has made its way right down to everyday sports. When fractions of seconds count, even a tight swimsuit needs to be as frictionless as possible. Testing materials that have the right quality is part of both sports and space. I can't say seconds count that much for me when I do sports these days, but I bet that in a few years we'll all be swimming in NASA and Phelps tested swimsuits. :-)

New Materials

Stretch and Bend Physics





Japanese Tsuyoshi Sekitani and colleagues have produced a super-stretchy, rubbery material with excellent electronic properties. The innovation means electronic devices could be mounted anywhere, including on curved surfaces or in movable parts such as the joints of a robot's arm.

Here is the adult version of the story AND if you feel more like a kid you can read this version of the story. Either way, it is fabutastic! :-))

Silicon Camera

Stretchable Silicon Camera



Photo courtesy John Rogers

Photograph of the electronic eye camera after integration with a transparent hemispherical cap and a simple, single component imaging lens.


Very Cool!

Maze

Grain Maze



Credits: Complex

This is aMAZING physics!


Grain maze. A maze-like pattern emerges when a mixture of grains and fluid confined between two glass plates is slowly drained. Fingers of air penetrate the system, leaving behind a complex, branching structure of compacted grains. The pattern forming instability is a result of a finely balanced interaction between capillary forces and friction.

Pageos

PAGEOS



Credit: NASA


PAGEOS (PAssive GEOdetic Satellite) was a balloon satellite which was launched by the NASA in June 1966. Pageos had a diameter of 31 m (thin polyester foil plus a reflecting layer) and was used for the Weltnetz der Satellitentriangulation (Worldwide Satellite Triangulation Network)

New Teflon

Monolithic photolithographical Fluorocur perfluoropolyether (PFPE)



Credit: European Space Agency

ExoMars Rover


I LOVE that name!

Apart from that awesome name, it is pretty cool what they have invented on Capitol Hill...No, no. I mean of course Chapel Hill.

Folks, in simple terms: It's material science with space applications. The new Teflon! :-)






For my sweet Chapel Hill friends, Comely1 and TapwaterJ! Way to go Carolina Blue!

Astrophysics

Astrophysics - the Ultimate Science



Credit: Andrey Kravtsov

A simulated distribution of dark matter in a galaxy cluster formed in the universe with dark energy. The clumps are locations where galaxies form.

In My Opinion! :-)


Frontiers in astrophysics are close to philosophy, only we use exact sciences like mathematics and physics as tools to understand the universe. I'm very happy that Fred Kavli agrees that the questions about how the universe began, will it end, are there parallel universes, unknown matter? etc. are important. Existential questions are often at the heart of astrophysics.

I can warmly recommend this article as a gentle introduction or update if you like...of the forefronts of astrophysics today.

Gold

Golden Crown of Materials Science



Credit: Wiley-VCH 2008


This pictures shows a giant, crown-like Au36 ring that aggregate with continuous metal-metal contacts formed by an Au(I)-Au(I) bonding interaction directed self-assembly.

Au=Gold

Military Fashion

Military Fashion and Material Science



Credit: Peggy Greb

A new biopolishing wool-processing technique can make wool clothing more comfortable. U.S. military is interested.

As I have worked with material science and nanotechnology for years (in the past) I have a deep fascination with the amazing applications in all fields of society that we have seen and will continue to see.

Scientists at ARS have developed a coating of wool making it more heat resistant and fire retardant. It means simply that it takes longer before the materials or cloths start to burn when exposed to fire.




I can't say you look good girl! She might save her life though, which I'd consider more important. :-)




Credit: ARS-ERRC.

On the left normal wool fiber (scanned by electron microscope), on the right wool with coating.

The scientists improved the flame retardancy of the biopolished wool by treating it with a heat-resistant polymer that is stable, easy to process, and highly tolerant of extreme temperatures. Unlike some popular flame retardants, the this material does not use the heavy metal zirconium, which can present a health hazard during processing. While natural, synthetic, and blended fibers can be treated with the polymer, wool is particularly suitable because of its innate fire resistance.

Epilog
Material Science includes solid state physics which is concerned with the different properties of materials such as thermal and structural change. This article is clearly about physics, in case you were in doubt. :-)