Scientists at Sandia National Laboratory won an R&D 100 award for their project “Bleeding Materials and Enclosures,” a tamper-indicating container made of colorful water beads sealed with epoxy, creating an enclosure. Upon contact with oxygen, the beads turn black in an irreversible chemical reaction, indicating that someone tampered with the enclosure. The project was designed…
New design for bioplastics inspired by leaves increases tensile strength
The detrimental effects of petroleum-derived plastics are well known. As pollution levels rise and concerns about microplastics and forever chemicals intensify, the need for a sustainable solution becomes increasingly evident. In response to this need, researchers are developing biodegradable plastics. However, bioplastics are not as strong as traditional plastics and only degrade in a high-temperature…
MIT physicists directly observe frictionless ‘edge state’ flow in ultracold atoms, offering a glimpse of super-efficient electronics
Physicists at MIT have directly imaged the frictionless flow of atoms along the edges of a material, confirming long-held theories about electron behavior in the quantum Hall effect. By recreating the effect’s conditions with ultracold atoms, the team observed these particles effortlessly navigating around obstacles, defying everyday experience with friction. In the everyday world, friction is…