Industrial Heat Pumps Are Coming For Your Fossil Fuels
Heat pumps are pushing gas and oil out of homes and commercial buildings, and now they will put the squeeze on industrial operations, too.
new materials
From “Sticks Like Glue” to “Sticks Like Gecko”
Biologists have long been drawn by the adhesive power of gecko feet that enable these 5-ounce lizards to scale vertical walls with nary a slip. Now polymer scientists and a biologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have duplicated how the gecko accomplishes this feat. The result: “Geckskin,” a sticky material that can hold up to 700 pounds on a smooth wall.
New Material Shrilk Might Rival Plastic
For those wanting replacements for non-biodegradable and fossil fuel-dependent plastic, Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering has announced a new material for that is cheap to produce, biodegradable, and biocompatible.
New Thin Film Material Promises Power Generating Windows
In what is considered to be a first in new materials science, a team of engineers at the Brookhaven and Los Alamos National Laboratories have created a light-absorbing material that efficiently generates charge and charge separation. What’s more, these “films” are transparent, making them perfect for windows. Soon, perhaps, your … [continued]
