materials

Latest in materials

Scientists at Texas A&M University were stunned when a piece of metal appeared to heal itself before their eyes.

Science & Energy

Scientists Intrigued by Metal That Can Heal Itself After Damage

By Victor Tangermann

A new glass called AM-III is so hard it can scratch the surface of diamonds and could be used in new ultra-sturdy solar panels.

Science & Energy

Scientists Create Glass That’s as Strong as a Diamond

By Dan Robitzski

A new kind of smart fabric integrates electronics that can turn clothes into glowing, billboard-like screens or even working keyboards.

Science & Energy

New Smart Fabric Can Turn Clothing Into a Huge Screen

By Dan Robitzski

The Air Force opened a new research lab that it says will enable it to build new resilient, high-strain spacecraft and satellites.

Air Force Opens New Lab for Spacecraft Materials

By Dan Robitzski

For the first time, scientists build a superconducting material that works at room temperature, albeit under extremely high pressures.

Science & Energy

Scientists Finally Built a Room-Temperature Superconductor

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is using a kind of heavy-duty metallic glass to develop rovers that can explore colder environments than ever before.

Science & Energy

NASA Is Making Moon Rover Parts Out of Metallic Glass

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists developed a new kind of plastic that can be broken down and recycled an indefinite number of times without losing quality.

Science & Energy

A New Kind of Plastic Could Be Recycled Indefinitely

By Dan Robitzski

A new durable hydrogel is both strong and flexible enough to replace missing knee cartilage, potentially doing away with invasive knee replacements.

Scientists Say New Artificial Cartilage Could Be Used in Knees

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists managed to make a robot out of an edible gel that could improve veterinary care and make for new children's toys.

Yum, Delicious: Inventors Built an Edible Robot

By Dan Robitzski

Astronaut pee may be a priceless resource on future Moon settlements. It turns out it makes for a phenomenal building material.

On the Moon, the Real Gold Might Be Human Urine

By Dan Robitzski

Materials researcher Will Srubar argues that in order to build a sustainable future, scientists need to develop living, self-growing materials.

This Professor Wants to Grow Entire Buildings Out of Bacteria

By Dan Robitzski

Researchers identified a major flaw in the U.S. government's plan to store nuclear waste: groundwater can eat away at storage containers and cause leaks.

Nuclear Waste Storage Containers Break Down When Exposed to Water

By Dan Robitzski

A team of scientists is exploring a bizarre idea: finding a way to build structures, circuitry, and other materials out of living fungal architecture.

These Researchers Want You to Live In a Fungus Megastructure

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists working with DARPA developed a living concrete, teeming with bacteria, that resembles Jell-O. It can grow and regenerate itself when it breaks.

Science & Energy

Scientists Create “Living Concrete” That Can Heal Itself

By Dan Robitzski

For the first time, scientists created a liquid magnet. But they're still figuring out how the magnet, created by accident, works.

Science & Energy

Scientists Accidentally Created a Liquid Magnet

By Dan Robitzski

A team of French physicists claim to have created metallic hydrogen. Scientists say this experiment is more credible than past, overhyped attempts.

Scientists May Have Created Metallic Hydrogen—For Real this Time

By Dan Robitzski