ScienceDaily: Engineering and Construction News

---

• Researchers invent 'meta mirror' to help advance nonlinear optical systems
• Inspired by nature, researchers create tougher metal materials
• Toward a new way to keep electronics from overheating
• 'Green buildings' have potential to improve health of low-income housing residents
• Revolutionary device makes machining composites as easy as ‘cutting through butter’
• 3-D printer to aid the visually impaired students in their educational endeavors
• Making graphene from plastic?
• One of world's thinnest piezoelectric materials identified
• Research could lead to dramatic energy savings at data farms
• Superconducting-silicon qubits: Using a bottom-up approach to make hybrid quantum devices

Researchers invent 'meta mirror' to help advance nonlinear optical systems Posted: 02 Jul 2014 02:00 PM PDT Scientists have created a nonlinear mirror that could advance laser systems. The metamaterials were created with nonlinear optical response a million times as strong as traditional nonlinear materials.

Inspired by nature, researchers create tougher metal materials Posted: 02 Jul 2014 09:24 AM PDT Drawing inspiration from the structure of bones and bamboo, researchers have found that by gradually changing the internal structure of metals they can make stronger, tougher materials that can be customized for a wide variety of applications -- from body armor to automobile parts.

Toward a new way to keep electronics from overheating Posted: 02 Jul 2014 08:10 AM PDT Computer technology has transformed the way we live, but as consumers expect ever more from their devices at faster speeds, personal computers as well as larger electronic systems can overheat. This can cause them to slow down, or worse, completely shut down. Now researchers are reporting that liquids containing nanoparticles could help devices stay cool and keep them running.

'Green buildings' have potential to improve health of low-income housing residents Posted: 02 Jul 2014 08:10 AM PDT The 'green building' trend is often associated with helping the environment by using eco-friendly materials and energy-saving techniques, but these practices are designed to improve people's health, too. Now scientists are reporting evidence that they can indeed help people feel better, including those living in low-income housing.

Revolutionary device makes machining composites as easy as ‘cutting through butter’ Posted: 02 Jul 2014 08:09 AM PDT Researchers have developed a device which could revolutionize the way cutting, drilling and milling is done in manufacturing.

3-D printer to aid the visually impaired students in their educational endeavors Posted: 02 Jul 2014 07:26 AM PDT New technology has been developed to make tactile objects with ease thanks to the convergence technology of 3-D printing and 3-D thermal reflow treatment, which can be denoted as the revolution in manufacturing technology. Using the technology, not only braille books, but also braille picture books and teaching materials can be made with greater flexibility in color, height and size. It is also harmless to human body since it does not require UV coating or harmful chemical treatment.

Making graphene from plastic? Posted: 02 Jul 2014 07:24 AM PDT Graphene is gaining heated attention, dubbed a "wonder material" with great conductivity, flexibility and durability. However, graphene is hard to come by due to the fact that its manufacturing process is complicated and mass production has not been possible. A carbon material has now been developed without artificial defects commonly found during the production process of graphene while maintaining its original characteristics.

One of world's thinnest piezoelectric materials identified Posted: 02 Jul 2014 06:36 AM PDT There are a handful of naturally occurring materials, known as piezoelectric materials, that generate electricity if you bend, stretch or apply another mechanical force to them, and vice versa -- if you apply a voltage across them, they'll deform accordingly. These materials are currently the subject of intense research for their potential applications in energy harvesting, artificial muscles and sensors, among others. These materials are also used in everyday devices, such as loudspeakers, which rely on piezoelectrics to convert electrical signals to mechanical vibrations which create sound waves to produce the desired acoustic signal. Mechanical engineers have now identified one of the thinnest possible piezoelectric materials on the planet -- graphene nitride.

Research could lead to dramatic energy savings at data farms Posted: 02 Jul 2014 06:36 AM PDT Computer scientists have developed a wireless network on a computer chip that could reduce energy consumption at huge data farms by as much as 20 percent.

Superconducting-silicon qubits: Using a bottom-up approach to make hybrid quantum devices Posted: 02 Jul 2014 06:36 AM PDT Theorists propose a way to make superconducting quantum devices such as Josephson junctions and qubits, atom-by-atom, inside a silicon crystal. Such systems could combine the most promising aspects of silicon spin qubits with the flexibility of superconducting circuits.

You are subscribed to email updates from Engineering and Construction News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610