[Image above] Credit: NIST
Could Cinderella’s glass slippers physically exist without shattering?
Whenever we design something that needs to bear force, we test for various possible modes of failure and try to ensure that our object is strong against all of them. Now, one possible way Cinderella’s glass slipper could break is by yielding to the compressive stress arising due to Cinderella’s weight. But will that happen?
New algorithm a Christmas gift to 3D printing and the environment
Just in time for Christmas, Simon Fraser University computing science professor Richard Zhang reveals how to print a 3D Christmas tree efficiently and with zero material waste, using the world’s first algorithm for automatically decomposing a 3D object into what are called pyramidal parts.
NTU invents smart window that tints and powers itself
Nanyang Technological University scientists have developed a smart window which can darken or brighten without the need for an external power source. This unique self-tinting window requires zero electricity to operate and is also a rechargeable battery. The window’s stored energy can be used for other purposes, such as to light up low-powered electronics like an LED.
Corning bets it can reinvent glass again
Someday your smartphone might be able to help you in a new way when you’re traveling: by telling you whether the water is safe to drink. Although a water app isn’t close yet, researchers at Corning and elsewhere recently discovered that they could use Gorilla Glass to make extremely sensitive chemical and biological sensors.
EPA seeks comments on brick and structural clay products manufacturing
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for brick and structural clay products and clay ceramics manufacturing. The EPA is proposing that all major sources in these categories meet maximum achievable control technology standards for mercury, non-mercury metal hazardous air pollutants, and dioxins/furans; health-based standards for acid gas; and work practice standards, where applicable.