University of Sussex physicists have applied “nano-origami” to graphene to create a tiny object which behaves like a microchip. This could eventually lead to computers and phones running thousands of times faster than they do today. The researchers created the microchips from graphene and other 2D materials by creating kinks (defects) in its structure. The … Read more
Researchers from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology have led a project to develop a hard, electronic smartphone display material which can self-heal from cracks and other damage. Smartphone display repair can often cost so much that many owners decide it isn’t worth paying for and simply dump the phone for an entirely new handset … Read more
A British firm has won a European Space Agency (ESA) contract to develop methods to process Moon dust into its constituent elements of oxygen and metal alloys. With plans afoot to build a base on the Moon (possibly powered by nuclear fission) as a jumping-off point for a mission to Mars, work is being undertaken to … Read more
Researchers are looking at how waste heat can be captured from the steelmaking process and reused or even moved to another location. A team involving scientists from Swansea University and Tata Steel are focusing on a thermochemical heat storage material developed at the University’s SPECIFIC Innovation & Knowledge Centre. Currently, heavy industries can release up … Read more
A smart fibre, funded by the US Army, is being tested on the International Space Station (ISS). The material could be used to develop space dust telescopes and allow astronauts to ‘feel’ through their pressurised suits. Researchers at the Army’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies at MIT have developed an acoustic fabric so sensitive to vibrations that it can … Read more