ScienceDaily: Engineering and Construction News

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• Smallest possible diamonds form ultra-thin nanothreads
• Engineered proteins stick like glue -- even in water
• Magnetic fields make the excitons go 'round: New way to improve efficiency of solar cells
• A Breakthrough in Electron Microscopy: Scientists reconstruct third dimension from a single image
• A nanosized hydrogen generator

Smallest possible diamonds form ultra-thin nanothreads Posted: 21 Sep 2014 11:51 AM PDT For the first time, scientists have discovered how to produce ultra-thin 'diamond nanothreads' that promise extraordinary properties, including strength and stiffness greater than that of today's strongest nanotubes and polymers. The threads have a structure that has never been seen before.

Engineered proteins stick like glue -- even in water Posted: 21 Sep 2014 11:51 AM PDT Researchers have found new adhesives based on mussel proteins could be useful for naval or medical applications. To create their new waterproof adhesives, researchers engineered bacteria to produce a hybrid material that incorporates naturally sticky mussel proteins as well as a bacterial protein found in biofilms -- slimy layers formed by bacteria growing on a surface. When combined, these proteins form even stronger underwater adhesives than those secreted by mussels.

Magnetic fields make the excitons go 'round: New way to improve efficiency of solar cells Posted: 21 Sep 2014 11:51 AM PDT A major limitation in the performance of solar cells happens within the photovoltaic material itself: When photons strike the molecules of a solar cell, they transfer their energy, producing quasi-particles called excitons -- an energized state of molecules. That energized state can hop from one molecule to the next until it's transferred to electrons in a wire, which can light up a bulb or turn a motor.

A Breakthrough in Electron Microscopy: Scientists reconstruct third dimension from a single image Posted: 21 Sep 2014 11:50 AM PDT Imagine that you want to find out from a single picture taken of the front of a house, what the building looks like from behind, whether it has any extensions or if the brickwork is damaged, and how many rooms are in the basement.  Sounds impossible? Not in the nanoworld. Scientists have developed a new method with which crystal structures can be reconstructed with atomic precision in all three dimensions.

A nanosized hydrogen generator Posted: 19 Sep 2014 01:54 PM PDT Researchers have created a small scale "hydrogen generator" that uses light and a two-dimensional graphene platform to boost production of the hard-to-make element. The research also unveiled a previously unknown property of graphene. The two-dimensional chain of carbon atoms not only gives and receives electrons, but can also transfer them into another substance.

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