Nano News: 05/22/15

Nonfriction literature

$500 billion. That's a low estimate of how much friction and wear costs the U.S. every year. In fact, studies suggest that so-called "normal wear and tear" costs industrialized countries some 2 to 6 percent of their annual gross domestic product. How so? Nearly every machine ever created has at least one performance-critical sliding interface. Joints,...

Atomic-level flyovers show how radiation bombardment boosts superconductivity

Sometimes a little damage can do a lot of good -- at least in the case of iron-based high-temperature superconductors. Bombarding these materials with high-energy heavy ions introduces nanometer-scale damage tracks that can enhance the materials' ability to carry high current with no energy loss -- and without lowering the critical operating temperature....

UCF's new nanotechnology Master's degree is first in Florida

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is now the first and only university in Florida to offer a research-focused master’s degree in nanoscience. The Master of Science in Nanotechnology program further elevates the prominence of UCF’s nanotechnology research, said Sudipta Seal, director of the university’s...

Artificial muscles get graphene boost

Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs), often referred to as artificial muscles, are electro-active polymer actuators that change in size or shape when stimulated by an electric field. IPMCs have been extensively investigated for their potential use in robotics inspired by nature, such as underwater vehicles propelled by fish-like fins, and in rehabilitation...

Mission possible: This device will self-destruct when heated

Where do electronics go when they die? Most devices are laid to eternal rest in landfills. But what if they just dissolved away, or broke down to their molecular components so that the material could be recycled? University of Illinois researchers have developed heat-triggered self-destructing electronic devices, a step toward greatly reducing electronic...

New software allows simulation of molecular dynamics in large systems

Image: T. Mori (Theoretical Molecular Science Laboratory) This software promises to open a new era in computational biophysics and biochemistry by allowing scientists to make connections between molecular and cellular-level understanding and to integrate experimental knowledge with theoretical and computational insights. Although other programs are...