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Betterbamboobuildings
Scientists at Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology, Cambridge, along
with architects and wood processors
from England and Canada, are looking
for ways to turn bamboo (shown above)
into a construction material more sim-
ilar to wood composites, like plywood.
The idea is that a stalk, or culm, can be
sliced into smaller pieces, which can
then be bonded together to form sturdy
blocks—much like conventional wood
composites. A structural product of this
sort could be used to construct more re-
silient buildings—particularly in places
like China, India, and Brazil, where bam-
boo is abundant. The goal is to gain a
better understanding of these materials,
so bamboo can be used more effectively.
Researchers have analyzed the micro-
structure of bamboo and found that it is
stronger and denser than North Ameri-
can softwoods like pine, fir, and spruce,
making it a promising resource for com-
posite materials. Photo courtesy of Jen-
nifer Chu/MIT. .
3D printing isoldhat
inshowerheads
Water Pik Inc., Fort Collins, Colo.,
has been using 3D printer technology
for nearly 20 years to speed design pro-
cesses and create high-performance
products. 3D printing allows designs to
be fine-tuned and is up to 10 times faster
than traditional prototyping. This gives
engineers time to refine designs to meet
rigorous performance requirements and
address consumer needs. The company
recently released a video highlighting the
prototyping process, which provides an
inside look at the 3D printer technology
in place. The video also demonstrates
how shower heads are tested to meet
rigorous OptiFLOW (the power behind
Waterpik shower heads) technology
performance standards.
Starof Davidshines as
moleculardiscovery
Consisting of two molecular trian-
gles, entwined about each other three
times into a hexagram, the Star of David’s
interlocked molecules are tiny—each tri-
angle is 114 atoms in length around the
perimeter. The molecular triangles are
threaded around each other at the same
time that the triangles are formed, by a
process called self-assembly—similar to
how the DNA double helix is formed in bi-
ology. The molecule was created at The
University of Manchester, UK, by Alex Ste-
phens. Professor David Leigh says, “It’s
the next step on the road to man-made
molecular chainmail, which could lead to
the development of new materials that
are light, flexible, and very strong. Just
as chainmail was a breakthrough over
heavy suits of armor in medieval times,
this could be a big step towards mate-
rials created using nanotechnology.”
.
OMG!
outrageousmaterialsgoodness
A Waterpik shower head design is prepped for 3D printing.
Are you working with or have you
discovered a material or its properties
that exhibit OMG - Outrageous
Materials Goodness?
Send your submissions to Julie Lucko at
.
Atoms in the Star of Davidmolecule. Courtesy of The University of Manchester.
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