The age of the superhero suit is upon us

Its rock-hard surface can take a full- on assault from a baseball bat, yet remains flexible enough to allow you to kick, leap and roll with perfect ease. Crafted from cutting-edge science, its unique molecular structure means that while providing armoured protection against crude concrete and even barbed wire, it remains light enough to allow you to run at high speed. It sounds like the stuff of Batman comics - but the superhero suit is here.

Identified as a major breakthrough that could impact on every sector from the military to motor sports, the revolutionary shock-absorbent material d3o is taking the world by storm. Blessed with the kind of properties your average costumed crime fighter would kill for, it is being hailed as an invention with the potential to change entire industries and save real lives.

In a nutshell, d3o is an advanced polymer with an intelligent molecular structure that flows with you as you move but, when shocked, locks together to become rigid enough to absorb impact energy. In its simplest form, it is like an automatic knee-pad that can be sown seamlessly into a pair of jeans."

At the moment a complete superhero suit made of our material would be a bit too heavy and far too expensive, but those challenges should be overcome within the next few years."

Today the material is fast becoming a common component of cutting-edge protective equipment, with the d3o brand beginning to feature in a range of winter and motor sports products worldwide. It has been adopted enthusiastically by the likes of US Olympic ski team, the four-times Everest climber Kenton Cool and Olympic cyclist Craig McClean.

Source: Spluch

Scientists Develop Metal That Explodes on Impact

This Navy test of a prototype warhead showed that reactive materials — inert compounds that ignite on impact — can increase the radius and lethality of a missile.

When most bombs go off, they release a spray of deadly shards of steel. Now, imagine that those shards were themselves explosive, detonating in a massive chain reaction. It's for real: Defense contractors are harnessing the strange alchemy of reactive materials (RMs) — in which two or more inert materials are mixed to create an explosion — to develop smaller, more lethal warheads, as well as new ways to protect troops against mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades.

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The Future of Tires

Plastic That Heals Itself

Researchers have developed a new material that can fill in its own surface cracks.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have made a polymer material that can heal itself repeatedly when it cracks. It's a significant advance toward self-healing medical implants and self-repairing materials for use in airplanes and spacecraft. It could also be used for cooling microprocessors and electronic circuits, and it could pave the way toward plastic coatings that regenerate themselves.

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Potatoes: The Next Plastic?

The usual choices for potatoes include baked, mashed or french fried, but a new study suggests another option: plastic.

A report by the University of Maine's Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center says the state's potato industry could benefit by becoming a producer of bioplastics, which are made from plant starch rather than crude oil and petroleum products.

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TV Screen: Thin as Paper

In the race for ever-thinner displays for TVs, cell phones and other gadgets, Sony may have developed one to beat them all - a razor-thin display that bends like paper while showing full-color video. Sony Corp. released video of the new 2.5-inch display.

In it, a hand squeezes a display that is 0.3 millimeters, or 0.01 inch, thick. The display shows color images of a bicyclist stuntman and a picturesque lake. Although flat-panel TVs are getting slimmer, a display that's so thin it bends in a human hand marks a breakthrough. Sony said it has yet to decide on commercial products using the technology.

"In the future, it could get wrapped around a lamppost or a person's wrist, even worn as clothing," said Sony spokesman Chisato Kitsukawa. "Perhaps it can be put up like wallpaper."

Scientists Create Fire-Safe, Green Plastic

Scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a synthetic polymer-a building block of plastics-that doesn't burn, making it an attractive alternative to traditional plastics, many of which are so flammable they are sometimes referred to as "solid gasoline."

The new polymer wouldn't need the flame-retardant chemicals that are added to many plastics before they can be used in bus seats, airplanes, textiles and countless household items. Some of these additives have been showing up in dust in homes and offices, fish, fat cells and breast milk, raising concern that they pose a risk to human health and the environment. (The state of Washington recently banned a class of flame-retardants from use in household items from mattresses to computers-the first state to do so.)

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UK publishes report on environmental benefits of nanotechnology

(Nanowerk News) The "Environmentally Beneficial Nanotechnologies: Barriers and Opportunities" (pdf download, 748 KB), a new report by the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), was published today.

Under this study, five nanotechnological applications were subject to detailed investigation: fuel additives, photovoltaics (solar cells), the hydrogen economy, electricity storage and insulation. In these areas nanotechnology could contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 2 % in the near term and up to 20 % by 2050 with similar reductions in air pollution being realised.

Overview of the report’s investigations into the nanotechnology focus areas:

Fuel additives: Nanoparticle additives have been shown to increase the fuel efficiency of diesel engines by approximately 5% which could result in a saving of 2-3 million tonnes of CO2 in the UK. This could be implemented immediately across the UK diesel powered fleet. However, this must be tempered by concerns about the health impact of free nanoparticles in diesel exhaust gases. Recommendations include: Comprehensive toxicological testing and subsidised independent performance tests to validate environmental benefit.

Solar cells: The high prices of solar cells are inhibiting their installation into distributed power generation, reducing energy generation from renewables. Nanotechnology may deliver more benefits in significantly decreasing the cost of production of solar cells. Conservatively, if a distributed solar generation grid met 1% of our electricity demand, approximately 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per annum could be saved. The major barrier to this technology is the incorporation of the nanotechnology into the solar cell, not the nanotechnology itself. The UK is one of the world leaders in understanding the fundamental physics of solar cells, but we lack the skills that allow us to transfer our science base into workable prototypes. Recommendations include: Develop programs and facilities for taking fundamental research through to early stage prototypes where established mechanisms can be employed to commercialise new technologies. Set up a centre of excellence in photovoltaics which allows cross fertilisation of ideas from different scientific disciplines.

The hydrogen economy: Hydrogen powered vehicles could eliminate all noxious emissions from road transport, which would improve public health. If the hydrogen is generated via renewable means or using carbon capture and storage, all CO2 emissions from transport could be eliminated (132 million tonnes). Using current methods of hydrogen generation, significant savings in carbon dioxide (79 Mte) can be made. The technology is estimated to be 40 years away from universal deployment. The UK is becoming one of the front runners in this area. Although we do not have a substantial automotive R&D base, the international nature of these companies will allow ready integration of UK innovation into transport. Recommendations include: The use of public procurement to fund hydrogen powered buses in major cities to create a market and infrastructure for hydrogen powered transport. Continue to fund large demonstration projects and continue R&D support.

Batteries and supercapacitors: Recent advances in battery technology have made the range and power of electric vehicles more practical. Issues still surround the charge time. Nanotechnology may provide a remedy to this problem allowing electric vehicles to be recharged in less than ten minutes, which is comparable to the refuelling time of current cars. If low carbon electricity generation techniques are used, CO2 from private transport could be eliminated (64 Mte) or, using the current energy mix, savings of 42 Mte of carbon dioxide could be made. Without nanotechnology, electric vehicles are likely to remain niche due to the issues of charge time. Significant infrastructural investment will be required to develop recharging stations throughout the UK. Recommendations include: Fast track schemes for commercialisation and cultivate links with automotive multinationals.

Insulation: Cavity and loft insulation are cheap and effective, however, there are no easy methods for insulating solid walled buildings, which currently make up approximately one third of the UK’s housing stock. Nanotechnology may provide a solution which, if an effective insulation could be found with similar properties to standard cavity insulation, could result in emission reductions equivalent to 3 Mte per year. Ultra thin films on windows to reduce heat loss already exist on the market. Recommendations include: Fund a DTI technology program call on novel insulation material for solid walled buildings and retrofit government offices with highly insulating nanotechnology based windows.

An appendix to the report can be downloaded here (pdf, 638 KB).
Source: Defra

Plastic Made by Bacteria Commercialized

A plastic from recombinant E. coli gets FDA approval for use in safer, ultrastrong sutures.