Materials
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Conversation
Atom-scale materials are the next tech frontier
Getting ready for when silicon nanomaterials run their course.
Every age in the history of human civilisation has a signature material, from the Stone Age, to the Bronze and Iron A...
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History
Fine china from China
The science and secrets of porcelain were much in demand.
The science of porcelain would make a good plot for a spy novel – a story of ancient industrial espionage involving a...
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Tiny bridges help particles stick together
For the strength and stability of an aggregate, size matters.
The structure and stability of soil changes as it gets wet, dry and wet again – something architects and engineers kn...
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History
Roy Plunkett's accident
Recognising novelty led to the development of Teflon.
When New Scientist magazine profiled “eight great accidents in scientific discovery” in 2017 it included such unlikel...
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When sensors get together
Matrix takes us further down the path towards electronic skin.
Advances in flexible sensors and organic electronics are moving us closer to the idea of creating electronic skin, bu...
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Can your phone sweat to keep cool?
A new strategy for transient thermal management.
Chinese engineers are investigating whether our phones can regulate their temperature by sweating – sort of. Writing...
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Triangles that can more than hold their own
Kirigami inspires a batch of strong structures with potential.
Kirigami will become more famous than origami if scientists keep up the current pace. Late last year Cosmos describe...
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Medical devices you ingest and forget
All you need is a special gel and an LED light.
Medical devices can be inserted into the human gastrointestinal tract to treat, diagnose or monitor a range of disord...
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Yes indeed, that’s cement setting
Using optical properties to try to create a greener process.
It’s been quite a week for cement stories in Cosmos. First, we reported on attempts to create a living concrete by co...
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How to create living concrete
Bacteria potential in a new world of construction.
US researchers have created what they call a living concrete by combining sand and bacteria. It’s early days, but th...
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Fold me a machine
The continuing quest for technology inspired by kirigami
For some time, engineers and mathematicians have been intrigued by the ancient Japanese art of kirigami (similar to t...
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History
Irving Colburn's shining light
His ideas made mass production of glass for windows possible.
The English language is filled with glass references: people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones; a particularly v...