Electronics

Video: Magnetic ink prints self-healing devices that fix themselves in mere milliseconds

By April Gocha / November 16, 2016

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a neodymium-loaded magnetic ink that can be used to print batteries, circuits, and other devices that, if broken or damaged, can self-heal themselves in a matter of milliseconds.

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Natural defects in 2-D materials pose new challenge for next-gen flexible electronics

By Stephanie Liverani / November 15, 2016

Researchers at Rice University recently found that 2-D semiconducting molybdenum diselenide’s tensile strength is more brittle than expected, due to the material’s inherent flaws—as small as one missing atom can crack the material under strain.

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Gallium nitride has wear resistance that approaches that of diamond

By April Gocha / November 15, 2016

Researchers at Lehigh University report that in addition to gallium nitride’s checklist of other useful properties, the material has a wear rate that approaches that of diamonds—which could open the material’s foray into even more diverse applications.

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Video: 3-D printing key to conserving rare-earth materials for high-power magnet production

By Stephanie Liverani / November 9, 2016

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory say they’ve 3-D-printed permanent magnets that can outperform bonded magnets made using traditional techniques while conserving critical rare materials in the process.

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Ceramics are superior: Ceramic materials offer safer solutions to lithium-ion battery woes

By April Gocha / November 8, 2016

With the swirling debacle surrounding Samsung’s exploding lithium-ions and NASA’s accidently self-destructing robot, consumer interest in battery safety has seldom been higher—which is why ceramic materials are getting their spot in the battery technology limelight.

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‘DIY batteries’ made from junkyard waste could be next high-performance power source

By Stephanie Liverani / November 4, 2016

Researchers from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., used scraps steel and brass to create what they say is the world’s first steel-brass battery that can store energy at levels comparable to lead-acid batteries.

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Video: ‘Floating pixels’ create display using soundwaves and force fields

By Stephanie Liverani / November 2, 2016

Researchers at the Universities of Sussex and Bristol in the U.K. have developed a new technology that effectively turns tiny, multi-colored spheres into real-life pixels that can form into floating displays, according to a University of Sussex press release.

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Creepy or cool? Mini robots are mobile wearables that crawl on your clothing

By April Gocha / November 1, 2016

A team of scientists at MIT and Stanford has developed rovables—small on-body robots that can function as mobile and autonomous wearables.

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Battery buzz: Three trends toward safer, cleaner lithium-ion power sources for consumer electronics

By Stephanie Liverani / November 1, 2016

Lithium-ion batteries are necessary for next-generation consumer electronics to compete with market demands for longer battery life and unsurpassed power. And researchers are focusing on making these power sources safer and better for the environment.

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Single-layer ‘super material’ semiconductor shows promise as novel light source

By Stephanie Liverani / October 28, 2016

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (or TMDCs) are particularly promising single-layer materials. And researchers at the University of Würzburg in Germany say TMDCs are actually capable of generating light when supplied with energy.

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