Innovation continues apace in textile design and development. Much of these advancements – building on the pioneering polymer work of Stephanie Kwolek, who invented Kevlar while at DuPont in the 1960s – are geared toward military applications, including l
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The big push in graphene research for electronics has been overcoming its lack of an inherent band gap. But silicon has another leg up on graphene when it comes to electronics applications: it can comparatively easily be p- and n-doped (positive and nega
Continue reading >>For all of the good things that plastics have done for us, it is hard to ignore the fact that they are truly terrible for the planet. The problem is that it isn’t easy to find another material that can do everything plastic can do for the same low cost.
Continue reading >>Rice University graduate student Changsheng Xiang spun fibers from graphene oxide flakes. The fibers are as strong at knots as anywhere along their length and should be suitable for weaving into advanced fabrics. Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University.
Continue reading >>The History Channel and Invent Now Inc. announced that the top invention of 2007 award will be claimed by the Enertia Building System, which uses a patented process to increase the latent solar heat storage capabilities of wood materials.
Continue reading >>Scientists have created a new material that could dramatically increase the efficiency of solar cells, by literally capturing every color of the rainbow. Whereas other materials only catch a small range of light frequencies, and therefore only a small fr
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