As part of The American Ceramic Society’s recently concluded 110th Anniversary Celebration, the Society identified the 11 best papers published by ACerS to commemorate the 11 decades that ACerS has continually operated. A total of 171 papers from Journal of the American Ceramic Society and International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology were considered in the…
Read More
This video is part of our ongoing efforts to collect videos that document some of the basic methods used in industrial ceramics. This video is produced by the Discovery Channel as part of its “How It’s Made” series, and shows the methods used to prepare the raw materials and then to mold, transport, fire and…
Read MoreResearchers, entrepreneurs, students, professors, business people – MS&T is the place for the latest buzz on materials applications, innovation, supplies and production. Seriously. The dates are Oct 5-9 and the place is Pittsburgh. The deadline for registration is coming up very quickly, so put down the cup-o-joe and click on that MS&T’08 box on the…
Read More
Momma, forget the ginsu. This week’s video examines outstanding durability and sharpness of a line of ceramic knives developed by Kyocera. Incredibly sharp, chemically inert and resilient to dulling, these blades are somewhat pricey but are being adopted by professional chefs despite some hesitations about whether the blades will chip. This really isn’t surprising since…
Read MoreNanotechnology is key to the development of a new paint that reportedly has the ability to kill antibiotic-resistant superbugs, according to a report from Manchester Metropolitan University researcher Lucia Caballero at a September 2008 meeting of the Society for General Microbiology. Caballero reports that, when exposed to fluorescent light or the sun’s ultraviolet rays, paints containing nanoparticles of titanium…
Read MoreWater contaminated in nuclear power applications and other situations where radiactive elements used can be a significant problems, especially because of the volume compared to the actual amount of radiactive particles. What if there was a fairly simple way to run the water through a filter and remove those materials? Queensland University of Technology’s Zhu…
Read MoreASTM International has issued a new global standard to address the use of honeycomb ceramics in automotive catalytic converters, diesel particulate filters and combustion burner plates. The standard, ASTM C1674, Test Method for Flexural Strength of Advanced Ceramics with Engineered Porosity (Honeycomb Cellular Channels) at Ambient Temperatures, has been developed by group’s Subcommittee C28.04 on Applications,…
Read MoreIs it really true that everything “new” in engines is old? Some days it seems that way. Today we received word of a nanoceramic oil additive for combustion engines (and other mechanical-friction applications) from CerMetLab that offers itself as a way to reduce metal-on-metal friction and improve fuel economy and efficiency by 15 percent. Does…
Read More
Researchers at MIT (see post below) have developed a novel way to concentrate sunlight for solar cells that doesn’t involve mirrors and tracking mechanisms. They use a system of glass and coatings to guide and collect light at the edges of the pane where solar cells can be positioned. Team leader Marco Baldo explains their…
Read MoreWhat if your house’s windows offered double-duty performance by not only letting in sunlight but also harvesting its energy to efficiently and cost-effectively power your home? That’s the concept behind the organic solar concentrator, a new kind of solar powering device, recently developed by MIT researchers and reported on in Science. “Light is collected over a large area…
Read More