Creating heat from fusion reactions requires carefully manipulating the properties of plasma, the electrically charged fourth state of matter that makes up 99% of the visible universe. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have finished building a new plasma measurement instrument, or diagnostic, that could aid that … Read more
A 3D printed ‘metamaterial’ boasting levels of strength for weight not normally seen in nature or manufacturing could change how we make everything from medical implants to aircraft or rocket parts. RMIT University researchers created the new metamaterial—a term used to describe an artificial material with unique properties not observed in nature—from common titanium alloy. … Read more
Porous materials are essential for many chemical processes, such as light harvesting, adsorption, catalysis, energy transfer, and even new technologies for electronic materials. Therefore, many efforts have been made to control the porosity of different manufactured materials. To address this, researchers at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences recently demonstrated … Read more
Scientists have combined laser 3D printing technology and an alternate soaking process to construct complex 3D structures that mimic bone microstructure. This is the first demonstration of this fabrication method, and it will lead to the development of 3D cell culture systems that can support bone grafts or create artificial bone marrow. Their research is … Read more
In the future, soft robots will be able to perform tasks that cannot be done by conventional robots. These soft robots could be used in terrain that is difficult to access and in environments where they are exposed to chemicals or radiation that would harm electronically controlled robots made of metal. This requires such soft … Read more
In a groundbreaking development, researchers have demonstrated the capability of 3D-printed polymer-based micro-optics to withstand the heat and power levels generated within a laser. This breakthrough paves the way for cost-effective, compact, and stable laser sources, with potential applications in lidar systems for autonomous vehicles. The research team, led by Simon Angstenberger from the 4th … Read more
Researchers have invented a new kind of artificial seed to sense environmental parameters without impacting the health of the environment. The soft robot, named Acer i-Seed, is inspired by natural Acer seeds and can monitor the temperature of the soil by becoming luminescent. It is made of a biocompatible and compostable material, and it has … Read more
3D printing is advancing rapidly, and the range of materials that can be used has expanded considerably. While the technology was previously limited to fast-curing plastics, it has now been made suitable for slow-curing plastics as well. These have decisive advantages as they have enhanced elastic properties and are more durable and robust. The use … Read more
Microlens arrays play a vital role in various applications like autostereoscopic displays, optical communication, wavefront sensing, and integral imaging. They are particularly crucial in integral imaging for image collection and display. However, the image depth in integral imaging is often limited due to fixed microlens focal lengths. Researchers, led by Professor Yan Jun Liu from … Read more
Acrylate-based UV-curable resins are commonly used in various applications, but they often suffer from limited mechanical strength and resilience due to low free-radical polymerization. In an Advanced Materials study led by Prof. Wu Lixin from the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, a breakthrough in 3D printing high-performance … Read more
Vat photopolymerization (VPP) is a popular 3D printing technique known for its efficiency, expansive printing capacity, cost-effectiveness, and versatile material choices when compared to other 3D printing methods. Nonetheless, VPP currently demands highly fluid ultraviolet (UV)-curable resin due to its bottom-up printing approach. This viscosity requirement often necessitates dilution (up to 5,000 cps) of the … Read more
Scientists from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), have introduced an innovative method for creating highly crystalline all-graphene macrostructures (AGMs) using laser-assisted layer-by-layer covalent growth. Their findings, which were published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, showcase a new approach to assemble graphene on a larger … Read more
Researchers at the University of California San Diego, in collaboration with BASF Corporation, have achieved a groundbreaking feat in soft robotics. They have developed a remarkable 3D-printed gripper that operates without any electronics. This innovative device comes off the 3D printer fully functional, equipped with gravity and touch sensors, enabling it to pick up, hold, … Read more
Researchers from the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre in collaboration with the University College London (UCL) and the University of Padova in Italy have made a significant breakthrough in the field of 3D printing. They have successfully demonstrated the ability to 3D print inside miniature organs that are grown in hydrogels. This … Read more
Researchers from Tianjin University, the Beijing Institute of Technology, Rowan University, the University of Missouri, Qingdao University, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, and Beijing Jiaotong University have made a significant breakthrough in holography technology. In an article published in Applied Physics Reviews, they describe their development of an acoustic metasurface-based holography technique, which employs a deep learning … Read more
Gluten, a large natural protein, possesses remarkable properties in maintaining the airiness of dough until baking, resulting in a stabilized open-pore structure. Prof. Dr. Mario Jekle, based at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, is dedicated to developing processes where specific proteins sourced from peas, rapeseed, rice, maize, and other ingredients can directly substitute gluten … Read more
In the future, it won’t be surprising to come across pills with unconventional shapes. While they may appear amusing at first glance, these pills serve a purpose by releasing pharmaceuticals in a controlled manner inside the body. Thanks to a combination of advanced computational methods and 3D printing, it is now possible to create objects … Read more
New research published in Science challenges the conventional understanding of liquid spreading and demonstrates a groundbreaking method to control the direction of liquid movement. Traditionally, the spreading direction of liquids with different properties is believed to be determined solely by the surface design and cannot be tailored. However, this recent study introduces a novel approach … Read more