Ceramic Tech Today

National Research Council names 16 tech priorities for NASA

By Eileen De Guire / February 3, 2012

Space Shuttle Atlantis at liftoff in Feb. 2001 on a mission to deliver the module, Destiny, to the ISS. Development of lightweight materials for spacecraft of the future will reduce…

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Mechanism offered for how seawater could corrode nuclear fuel

By / January 31, 2012

Damaged seawater pump used to cool cores of Fukushima-Daiichi reactors. Credit: IAEA Image Bank. When Japanese officials acted out of desperation and used seawater to cool the cores at the Fukushima-Daiichi…

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Time to vote for ARPA-E’s ‘America’s Next Top Energy Innovator;’ 2012-13 competition also announced

By Eileen De Guire / January 31, 2012

Laser light table. Credit: NREL, DOE. Late last year we told you about the reality-TV-inspired event ARPA-E is conducting — “America’s Next Top Energy Innovator” — to accelerate tech transfer…

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Historic January 1987: YBCO superconductors discovered and Super Bowl XXI

By Eileen De Guire / January 31, 2012

This timeline of discovery of superconducting materials shows how dramatic the discovery of high-Tc YBCO was. Credit: Wikipedia. Do you recall where you were the weekend before the Super Bowl…

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Toughened, flexible silica aerogel? Joint Japanese–Chinese group shows how to do it

By / January 31, 2012

Demonstration of the flexibility of cellulose–silica composite aerogel. Credit: J. Cai et al.; Angewandte Chemie. This sounds like the type of breakthrough aerogel fans have yearning for. A newly published paper…

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Other materials stories that may be of interest

By / January 28, 2012

Computer simulations show that metal oxides in water go through many short-lived shapes and structures (see story below). Credit: William Casey, UC Davis. Check ’em out: Scorpions inspire scientists in…

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Photoblogging from ICACC (Daytona Beach): Expo, Shot Glass Drop, posters and more

By Eileen De Guire / January 27, 2012

The Shot Glass Drop competition gave students and young professionals a chance to put their on-the-spot design talents to the test. This clip shows a “victory drop” of the winning…

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Ceramics and glass business news of the week

By / January 27, 2012

Here’s what we are hearing: Kyocera’s 315-watt, 80-cell solar module launches in the US Kyocera Solar Inc. has announced the launch of its highest-output solar module, the 80-cell KD 315.…

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Minerals consumption: Tale of two countries

By / January 26, 2012

This is part of the chart USGS’s W. David Menzie presented today at a hearing in Washington, DC. Credit: USGS. Not totally surprising, but I hadn’t seen these number aggregated like…

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Nanomaterials safety research: National Academies sound alarm and urges cohesive plan

By / January 26, 2012

Framework for new report by a committee of the National Research Council for the National Academies. Credit: NRC. Nano environmental health and safety is clearly an important topic and one…

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