Materials Sciences

The effect of corrosion has an impact on about 3% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product. From a positive point of view, however, chemical attack of metal surfaces may result into surface nano-structures with very interesting technological applications such as catalysts and sensors. Therefore, a better understanding of corrosion processes is required to both prevent it and make the most of it. Scientists from Germany and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) have highlighted a self-

New composites could remove buzz from speakers, sting from golf clubs

A new study suggests that integrating nanotubes into traditional materials dramatically improves their ability to reduce vibration, especially at high temperatures. The findings could pave the way for a new class of materials with a multitude of applications, from high-performance parts for spacecraft and automobile engines, to golf clubs that don’t sting and stereo speakers that don’t buzz.

The mate

Cleaning bathrooms may become a thing of the past with new coatings that will do the job for you.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales are developing new coatings they hope will be used for self-cleaning surfaces in hospitals and the home.

Led by Professor Rose Amal and Professor Michael Brungs of the ARC Centre for Functional Nanomaterials, a research team is studying tiny particles of titanium dioxide currently used on outdoor surfaces such as self-cleaning w

ACS Production of France, a specialist in textile architecture, will launch ALOE – a structure for providing shade in the garden or beside a swimming pool – in May 2006. The composite structure is made of metal (the foot can also be dressed with wood) and textiles. ALOE was used during televised interviews on the beach of the Hotel Majestic in Cannes for the 2005 Film Festival.

ALOE’s textile structures are inspired by the natural shape of foliage. They are formed on a metal

Rotavirus vaccine will protect children against a major killer worldwide

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the licensing of a new vaccine against a disease responsible for tens of thousands of hospitalizations in the United States and hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world each year. The vaccine, developed by Merck & Co., Inc., will be sold as ROTATEQ® and will protect infants against rotavirus infection. Rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that i

Could engineers have known ahead of time exactly how much pressure the levees protecting New Orleans could withstand before giving way? Is it possible to predict when and under what conditions material wear and tear will become critical, causing planes to crash or bridges to collapse? A study by Weizmann Institute scientists takes a new and original approach to the study of how materials fracture and split apart.

When force is applied to a material (say, a rock hitting a pane of glass