Researchers have shown for the first time that a cheap catalyst can split water and generate hydrogen gas for hours on end in the harsh environment of a commercial electrolyzer — a step toward clean, large-scale hydrogen production for fuel, fertilizer and industry.
Read moreNew research integrates nanomaterials into heterostructures, an important step toward creating nanoelectronics.
Read moreHumanitarian engineering projects often focus on bringing western technologies to non-industrialized societies. But environmental and cultural factors in these locations may be very different from conditions in the West, and the projects may not meet client needs if engineers do not fully understand the context in which they are operating.
Read moreEngineers have developed a way to build soft robots that are compact, portable and multifunctional. The advance was made possible by creating soft, tubular actuators whose movements are electrically controlled, making them easy to integrate with small electronic components. As a proof of concept, engineers used the new actuators to build an untethered, battery-powered, walking soft robot and a soft gripper.
Read moreResearchers have created a metallic microdevice in which they can define and tune patterns of superconductivity. Their discovery holds great promise for quantum technologies of the future.
Read moreResearchers have figured out how to add more conductivity into functional fabric devices, by coating yarns with a 2-dimensional carbon-based material called MXene, to make conductive threads. The group has developed a dip-coating method, similar to the dyeing process, that can produce a conductive yarn strong enough for use in industrial knitting machines and durable enough to make it through wash cycles without degrading.
Read moreResearchers have discovered a new technology for refrigeration that is based on twisting and untwisting fibers. They demonstrated twist-based refrigeration using materials as diverse as natural rubber, ordinary fishing line and nickel titanium wire.
Read moreCan firearm owners be grouped into distinct groups based on the number and types of firearms owned, primary reason for having firearms and other patterns of ownership? A new study says, yes.
Read moreAdvances in the fields of soft robotics, wearable technologies, and human/machine interfaces require a new class of stretchable materials that can change shape adaptively while relying only on portable electronics for power. Researchers have developed such a material that exhibits a unique combination of high electrical and thermal conductivity with actuation capabilities that are unlike any other soft composite.
Read moreThe lifespan of a liquid droplet which is transforming into vapour can now be predicted thanks to a new theory. The new understanding can now be exploited in a myriad of natural and industrial settings where the lifetime of liquid drops governs a process' behavior and efficiency.
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