Feat of clay: From soil to super material - tech - 17 November 2010 - New Scientist

Feat of clay: From soil to super material - tech - 17 November 2010 - New Scientist The stuff of pottery and piggy banks can be transformed into a nanocomposite that is stronger than steel, light as plastic and cheap as mud

Short Sharp Science: The crack that delayed Discovery

Short Sharp Science: The crack that delayed Discovery A missing chunk of foam insulation was responsible for the breakup of the shuttle Colombia as it re-entered the earth's atmosphere in 2003, causing the deaths of 7 astronauts.After the cracked foam was removed on Tuesday night, cracks were found in an underlying structure called a stringer. Similar cracks were found on an external tank set to be used by the shuttle Atlantis in 2011 and "may be related to the use of lightweight materials in the latest generation of tanks".

Organic solvent system improves catalyst recycling

Organic solvent system improves catalyst recycling Noble metals such as platinum and palladium are becoming increasingly important because of growth in environmentally friendly applications like fuel cells and pollution control catalysts. But the world has limited quantities of these materials, meaning manufacturers will have to rely on efficient recycling processes to help meet the demand.

Rare Earth Metals May Trigger Trade Wars : Discovery News

Rare Earth Metals May Trigger Trade Wars : Discovery News Alternative energy is not the cure for energy security.
A handful of countries, including China, dominate the markets for many rare earth metals.
More domestic mining and new technologies for extracting the useful metals are needed.

Will we cope if the rare earths live up to their name? - tech - 29 October 2010 - New Scientist

Will we cope if the rare earths live up to their name? - tech - 29 October 2010 - New Scientist FOR decades, the world has been busy incorporating the so-called rare earth elements into all manner of high-tech devices, including disc drives, wind turbines and hybrid cars. The messy business of mining the ore and extracting the elements was left to China, and few people in the west cared that the nation controlled 97 per cent of world supply."Rare earth" is an alternative name for the lanthanides - elements 57 to 71 - plus yttrium and scandium, and despite the name most of them were not considered rare at all. The elements hit the headlines a few weeks ago, when China appeared to be blocking exports to Japan and the US. The Chinese government, which has also been tightening its export quotas, claims that it needs to clean up mining procedures and support its own growing demand for rare earths.

Short Sharp Science: China sparks concern over rare earth metal supply

Short Sharp Science: China sparks concern over rare earth metal supply China currently provides 97 per cent of the world's rare earth elements (REEs), but it has been imposing export quotas for some time. Last July, it slashed the quotas for REEs and recently made plans for further dramatic cuts, according to the China Daily newspaper. Please remember that these Rare elements are an essential component of gadgets in your home, from iPods to LCD TVs.

New materials could replace costly gold in electrical applications

New materials could replace costly gold in electrical applications ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2010) — Researchers at the University of Connecticut, partnering with United Technologies Research Center engineers, have modeled and developed new classes of alloy materials for use in electronic applications that will reduce reliance on costly gold and other precious metals.

Rare Earths: Elemental Needs of the Clean-Energy Economy: Scientific American

Rare Earths: Elemental Needs of the Clean-Energy Economy: Scientific American A massive wind turbine—capable of turning the breeze into two million watts of power—has 40-meter-long blades made from fiberglass, towers 90 meters above the ground, weighs hundreds of metric tons, and fundamentally relies on roughly 300 kilograms of a soft, silvery metal known as neodymium—a so-called rare earth.

Titanium foams replace injured bones

Titanium foams replace injured bones ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 2010) — Flexible yet rigid like a human bone, and immediately capable of bearing loads: A new kind of implant, made of titanium foam, resembles the inside of a bone in terms of its structural configuration. Not only does this make it less stiff than conventional massive implants. It also promotes ingrowth into surrounding bones

Short Sharp Science: Is this the start of the element wars?

Short Sharp Science: Is this the start of the element wars? Chinese customs officials are blocking shipments to Japan of rare earth elements (REEs) and companies have been informally told not to export them, says The New York Times.

Titanium foam builds Wolverine bones - health - 23 September 2010 - New Scientist

Titanium foam builds Wolverine bones - health - 23 September 2010 - New Scientist Bone implants are typically made of solid metal – usually titanium. Though well tolerated by the body, such implants are significantly stiffer than bone.Now Prof.Quadbeck and colleagues have created a titanium implant with a foam-like structure, inspired by the spongy nature of bone. The titanium foam does a better job than solid metal when it comes to matching the mechanical properties of bone, such as flexibility, and this encourages more effective bone regrowth.

Elements by Tom Lehrer

Nanostructures give alloy super strength

Nanostructures give alloy super strength

Space Colonists Could Use Bacteria to Mine Minerals on Mars and the Moon: Scientific American

Space Colonists Could Use Bacteria to Mine Minerals on Mars and the Moon: Scientific American Microbes currently are used in mining to help recover metals such as gold, copper and uranium. Now researchers suggest bacteria could be enlisted for "bio-mining" in space, to extract oxygen, nutrients and minerals from extraterrestrial bodies such as the moon and Mars for use by future colonists there.

Vizag steel plnt sets record

09.09.2010:Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (Visakhapatnam Steel Plant) produced 2.52 lakh tonnes of saleable steel during August this year, recording a growth of 9 per cent over August-2009.During the five months of April-August 2010, VSP produced 12.23 lakh tonnes of saleable steel which is also higher compared to corresponding period last year.WelCome to Steel Group

CO₂-free method of producing Iron

CO₂-free method of producing Iron: "George Washington University Professor Stuart Licht has developed a revolutionary CO₂-free method of producing iron that could provide a breakthrough for an industry that has been using the same polluting process of iron smelting for more than three thousand years."

Materials science-the big winner in R&D awards

TMS - The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society Group News | LinkedIn Materials science was big winner in the 2010 R&D 100 Awards, announced in July by R&D Magazine. Considered the “Oscars of invention”, the awards recognize the top 100 scientific and technological innovations of the past year as judged by a team of independent experts and the editors of R&D Magazine.

First gold-iron alloy shows power of magnetic attraction - tech - 19 August 2010 - New Scientist

First gold-iron alloy shows power of magnetic attraction - tech - 19 August 2010 - New Scientist: "GOLD readily forms alloys with the precious metals silver and palladium, but it normally blends with cheap iron about as well as oil mixes with water. That has now changed, with the creation of a gold-iron alloy that is held together by magnetism."

Transformers: More than meets the eye

Transformers: More than meets the eye

UWM researchers deliver stronger, lighter, cheaper alloys

UWM researchers deliver stronger, lighter, cheaper alloys: "Cast metal matrix composites (MMCs), they are cheaper, lighter and stronger than their original alloys. In fact, an aluminum-based MMC developed at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) can replace iron-based alloys."