Ceramic Tech Today

News on glass & refractory world

By P. Carlo Ratto / February 11, 2012

Joint venture partners Owens-Illinois Inc., Berli Jucker Public Company and Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Company have announced the opening of a glass container manufacturing plant in My Xuan A Industrial…

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Can a fish in the Amazon inspire ‘flexible’ ceramics?

By / February 10, 2012

An armorlike arapaima fish scale resists being fractured by a piranha tooth that is slowly pressed into it. In fact, it is the tooth that fails. Credit: Meyers Group: Credit:…

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‘Shaping the Future of Ceramics’ is theme of international congress in Chicago this July

By Eileen De Guire / February 10, 2012

[flash https://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/wp-content/video/faberfinal.flv w=480 h=208 preview=force mode=1 f={image=https://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/wp-content/video/poster-image.jpg}] Katherine Faber, president of the 4th International Congress on Ceramics, on “Shaping the Future of Ceramics.” Credit: ACerS. I really enjoy going to…

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Flying machines and falling men

By Eileen De Guire / February 10, 2012

University of Pennsylvania researchers demonstrate swarming capability with a fleet of saucer-sized flying robots. Credit: GRASP, U. Pennsylvania; You Tube. Two stories about flight flitted across my field of view…

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Ceramics and glass business news of the week

By / February 10, 2012

Mitsubishi i-MIEV battery electric vehicle was rated highest in latest environmental rankings provided by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. See story below. Credit: Mitsubishi. Here is what we are hearing:…

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Alta Devices reports NREL verification of 23.5% efficiency for counter-intuitive solar panel

By / February 8, 2012

Conversion efficiencies of the best research solar cells worldwide from 1976 through 2011 for various photovoltaic technologies; efficiencies determined by certified agencies/laboratories. Credit: NREL. The steady march to grid parity…

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Navy looks to use $6M to lure ideas for ‘bottom up’ building of carbon-based nanoelectronics

By / February 7, 2012

Graphene nanoribbon band structures for arm-chair type. Tightbinding calculations show that armchair type can be semiconducting or metallic depending on width (chirality). Credit: SR Mehrotra and G Klimeck; Wikipedia. The…

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VO2 foils eyed for mass production for thermochromic window applications

By / February 7, 2012

Photographs of sample films at room temperature. Credit, Gao et al.; RSC Energy Environ. Sci. The notion of making functional and flexible ceramic foils is fascinating, but a little counterintuitive,…

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Other materials stories that may be of interest

By / February 7, 2012

Check ‘ em out: On relaxations and aging of various glasses Slow relaxation occurs in many physical and biological systems. “Creep” is an example from everyday life. When stretching a…

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Making ferroelectric nanorocks with an atomic force microscope hammer

By Eileen De Guire / February 7, 2012

Ferroelectric lead titanate nanodots were shattered using an atomic force microscope tip to make nanodots less than 10 nm diameter. Credit: Son and Jung, JACerS; Wiley. Jim O’Neil, a fellow graduate…

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