Though the presence of water on the moon is a well-confirmed fact, the origins of this water and its distribution on the lunar surface remain largely unknown. Thanks to new lunar samples brought back by the Chinese Chang’e 5 lunar exploration mission, researchers now know that impact glass beads appear to play a significant role in the lunar surface water cycle.
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Reliance on single-use packaging significantly contributes to plastic pollution. Chicago-based startup Kadeya designed a unique “closed-loop” water vending service based on reusable glass bottles that could help cut plastic waste in the vending sector.
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The origins of the world ocean remain a much-debated topic to this day. A new paper by researchers from several universities in China and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Russia posits that magnesium hydrosilicates served as reservoirs of water in early Earth.
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Water is known to produce many negative effects in batteries. But researchers at Toyohashi University of Technology found adding water to calcium-ion battery electrolytes actually increased the batteries’ speed.
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Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a method called water-assisted flash sintering that can densify powders to 98% of theoretical density in just 30 seconds. Their method takes place at room temperature and requires no external heating.
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Researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) (Hermsdorf, Germany) have harnessed the power of ceramics to develop nanofiltration membranes that can generate completely clean drinking water from wastewater—even industrial sewage.
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Black phosphorus doesn’t mind water, supercomputer simulation reveals 2-D glass can go infinitely soft, and other materials stories that may be of interest for December 21, 2016.
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Unprecedented nanoscale analysis, when glass becomes liquid, and other materials stories that may be of interest for March 23, 2016.
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Scientists at Australian National University (Canberra, Australia) created what they describe as “the world’s thinnest lens, one two-thousandth the thickness of a human hair,” which could revolutionize flexible computer displays and miniature cameras.
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Engineers at Stanford University have developed what they call a “state-by-state plan to convert U.S. to 100% clean, renewable energy by 2050,” and they’ve outlined how this could work in a recent paper.
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