materials
Gadgets
Self-Mending Concrete Bends Like Rubber, Heals Like Flesh
7:55PM John Herrman | It can be bent into a U-shape, “heals” cracks with nothing more than rainwater, and is strong enough to build bridges from. Is Victor Li’s composite building material really even concrete anymore?
Science
Discovered Materials Formed In Asteroid Impacts and Volcanic Eruptions Much Harder Than Diamonds
10:20AM Brian Lam | Two materials, lonsdaleite and wurtzite, have just been recognised as being harder than diamonds. Lonsdalite, similar to diamonds that its made from carbon, is formed during asteroid impacts, and is 58% harder than its cousin. Wurtzite boron nitride is formed during heavy volcanic eruptions and can be up to 18% harder than diamonds. More »
Science
Our Favourite Future Materials
7:20AM Sean Fallon | The folks at Popular Mechanics have put together a collection of 16 high-tech materials that we could find in future products. Of that group, we have selected some of our more obscure favorites. More »
Design
What Beautiful Future Gadgets Will Be Made Of
2:00AM Brian Lam | Wood paneling and silver-painted plastic used to be cool; so I wonder when our current metal and glass gadgets will go out of style, and if so, what will future gadgets be made from? More »
Science
Scientists Make World’s Smallest Balloon, For Microscopic Birthday Parties
7:41PM Kit Eaton | Graphene looks like it’s going to be one of the “wonder materials” of the future, and a science team at Cornell University has just demonstrated the world’s smallest balloon made of it. They stuck sheets of graphene over microscopic wells (1 to 100 square micrometers) cut into silica glass, trapping gas inside. By varying the pressure in the wells, they could make the graphene bulge inwards or outwards like a balloon, and the membranes proved pretty resilient: They could withstand several atmospheres of pressure. Though, like real birthday party balloons, the gas leaked out after a few days, it apparently did so through the glass, not the graphene. These tiny air pockets may have future uses as micro-sized weighing scales or even precise pressure sensors: It’s another case of an invention waiting to find a use. [New Scientist]
Science
