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Egg whites could be key to removing microplastics from seawater
It could soon be possible to clear the oceans of microplastics thanks to a gel made from egg whites.
Six amazing uses for the wonder material graphene
By Cat DiStasio Graphene is a super-strong, ultra-lightweight material that's led to scores of technological innovations in recent years. It consists of bonded carbon atoms formed into sheets that measure just one atom thick. The material's strength to weight ratio makes it ideal for all sorts of applications ranging from desalination filters that produce clean drinking water to batteries that charge up in seconds, and even next-gen LED bulbs. Graphene is even being used to make solar cells produce electricity in the rain, leading us to believe the most amazing graphene-based gadgets have yet to come.
ICYMI: Soft robot challenge, NASA's space sails and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-736059{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-736059, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-736059{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-736059").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: NASA announced a space probe this week that will use solar sails to leave Earth's orbit; the first spacecraft from the agency to do so. It should go up in 2018 and its mission is to get a good view of an asteroid.
Scientists create gold nuggets that are 98 percent air
Researchers at ETH Zurich have accomplished a bit of modern-day alchemy, transforming 20 carat gold into a lightweight foam. Well, technically it's an aerogel: an exceedingly light and porous matrix of material. It's so porous, in fact, that the foam doesn't conduct electricity because, at atmospheric pressure, the gold atoms within the structure don't actually touch. "The so-called aerogel is a thousand times lighter than conventional gold alloys. It is lighter than water and almost as light as air," Raffaele Mezzenga, Professor of Food and Soft Materials at ETHZ, said in a statement.
3D-printed material can carry 160,000 times its own weight
Researchers from MIT and Lawrence Livermore have created a new class of materials with the same density as aerogels (aka frozen smoke) but 10,000 times stiffer. Called micro-architected metamaterials, they can withstand 160,000 times their own weight, making them ideal for load-bearing, weight-sensitive applications. To do it, the team created microscopic lattice molds using a 3D printer and photosensitive feedstock (see the video below), then coated them with a metal 200 to 500 nanometers thick. Once the lattice material was removed, it left an ultralight metal material with a very high strength-to-weight ratio. The process also works with polymers and ceramics -- with the latter, they created a material as light as aerogel, but four orders of magnitude stiffer. In fact, it was 100 times stronger than any known aerogel, making it ideal for use in the aerospace industry. Given that it was funded by DARPA, it could also end up on robots, drones or soldiers.
New carbon nanotube aerogel is now the world's lightest solid material
Frozen smoke (read: aerogel) -- not to be confused with the stuff your Grandma uses to flavor her turkey -- is the world's lightest solid material, and it just keeps getting lighter. Researchers at the University of Central Florida have created a new form of the super material, known as multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) aerogel, that has a density of just four milligrams per cubic centimeter and can be used in sensors to detect pollutants and toxic substances, chemical reactors, and electronic components. Aerogels, which are known as the world's most effective insulators, have been around since the early 20th century, but most of these are fabricated from silicon dioxide. In order to produce the new aerogel, researchers removed the liquid from a "wet gel of well-dispersed pristine MWCNTs," creating a honeycomb structure with walls just 100-nanometers thick. The resulting material is an impressive and resilient electrical conductor that looks and acts less like frozen smoke and more like a burnt marshmallow. And now, you know. Check out the coverage link below for video.
