Material

Smart materials or Active materials or Functional materials are designed materials that have diverse, dynamic features that enable them to adapt to the environment. They have one or more properties that can be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli, the stimulus and response may be mechanical, electrical, …

A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing a nonmetallic mineral, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, and brick.   With such a large range of possible options for the composition/structure of a …

The amount of electricity consumed worldwide grows by the year, and so does the demand for energy storage solutions since many devices often operate in autonomous mode. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have been workhorse of  the consumer electronics market including portable electronics, implantable devices, power tools, hybrid/full electric vehicles (EVs) and …

Phase change materials are substances that absorb and release thermal energy (heat) during the process of melting and freezing  at defined temperatures . They are called “phase change” materials because they  transition from one of the two fundamental states of matter – solid and liquid – to the other  during …

With the growing global concerns over climate change, scientists are looking for cleaner energy sources and other ways to minimize the carbon footprint in the world.  A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the production, use and end-of-life of a product or service. …

Tungsten is one of the hardest metals on the earth, and many scientists compare it to diamond. Tungsten is a dull silver-colored metal with the highest melting point of any pure metal. Pure tungsten melts at a whopping 6,192 degrees F (3,422 degrees C) and won’t boil until temperatures reach …

Gallium nitride (GaN) is hot. Even hotter is a race to integrate GaN with other materials to boost GaN’s performance further.   The power electronics industry has seen the theoretical performance limit reached by silicon MOSFETs and now needs to move to a new element. GaN is a wide bandgap, …

Every action our body performs begins with a thought, and with every thought comes an electrical signal. The electrical signals can be received by the brain-computer interface, consisting of an electroencephalograph (EEG) or an implanted electrode, which can then be translated, and then sent to the performing hardware to produce …

All kinds of engineering infrastructures undergo aging, and damage appears as a consequence of the loads applied to them, so inspection and maintenance actions are required to predict and lengthen their lifetime thus avoiding catastrophic failures. Due to the harsh conditions suffered by aircraft structures, periodic and scheduled inspection and …

The first quantum revolution brought about semiconductor electronics, the laser and finally the internet. The coming, second quantum revolution promises spy-proof communication, extremely precise quantum sensors and quantum computers for previously unsolvable computing tasks.   Quantum secure communication relies on sharing of entangled states between parties. Over short distances (less …