Wheezedom

173
20
Apr

climateadaptation:

Boron-treated carbon nanotubes soak up oil from water repeatedly

Researchers at Rice University and Penn State University have discovered that adding a dash of boron to carbon while creating nanotubes turns them into solid, spongy, reusable blocks that have an astounding ability to absorb oil spilled in water. […]

The blocks are both superhydrophobic (they hate water, so they float really well) and oleophilic (they love oil). The nanosponges, which are more than 99 percent air, also conduct electricity and can easily be manipulated with magnets. […] He then put a match to the material, burned off the oil and returned the sponge to the water to absorb more. The robust sponge can be used repeatedly and stands up to abuse; he said a sample remained elastic after about 10,000 compressions in the lab. The sponge can also store the oil for later retrieval, he said.

“These samples can be made pretty large and can be easily scaled up,” said Hashim, holding a half-inch square block of billions of nanotubes. “They’re super-low density, so the available volume is large. That’s why the uptake of oil can be so high.” He said the sponges described in the paper can absorb more than a hundred times their weight in oil. […]

“Oil-spill remediation and environmental cleanup are just the beginning of how useful these new nanotube materials could be,” added. “For example, we could use these materials to make more efficient and lighter batteries. We could use them as scaffolds for bone-tissue regeneration. We even could impregnate the nanotube sponge with polymers to fabricate robust and light composites for the automobile and plane industries.” […]

[via] [more] [paper]

(via emergentfutures)
559
19
Apr

theclearlydope:

This is really the first major sign that the earth may not make it to 2013. Who’s going to rock it in?

newsweek:

Dick Clark is dead, TMZ reports.

[Photo via our gallery of his many Rockin’ New Years Eves]
572
18
Apr

(Source: eyeonspringfield)
126
17
Apr

brit:

Wouldn’t it be nice if your body sent you a text message reminding you to take your daily medication? These brand new microchip-implanted pills do just that, and more. Read on for the full story.

(via emergentfutures)
300
15
Apr

lettuceturnipthebeet:

This shadow art blows my mind.

(via theinkedquill)
85
12
Apr

futurescope:

Ultrathin and lightweight organic solar cells with high flexibility

The only way that solar power is ever going to contribute an appreciable amount of energy to the betterment (and cheaperment) of society is if we plaster solar panels on everything, everywhere, all the time. And we might just be able to do it now, with this new generation of panels that are thinner than a strand of human hair by a factor of 20.

Thin doesn’t just mean lightweight (although these panels are very lightweight), it also means flexible. At 1.9 micrometers thick, the plastic foil cells are, for all practical purposes, elastic. So, you can layer them onto clothing, for example, and not only will you not be able to feel any additional weight, but the panels will be able to flex and crumple right along with the fabric without damaging anything.

Beyond applications requiring flexibility, solar cells that don’t take up any space and don’t weigh anything become an obvious thing to stick on to all sorts of surfaces just because you can. Back of a cellphone? Sure! Roof of your car? Sounds good! Bottom of your swimming pool? Why not!

The current generation of these cells can only convert 4.2% of sunlight into electricity (which is terrible, to be honest), but by the time commercial availability rolls around in five years or so, our hope is that that number will get bumped up enough to make it worthwhile to start putting this stuff on everything.

[via] [paper] [photo credit: Kaltenbrunner etal.]

Moving towards the future!!
(via emergentfutures)
129
24
Mar

"Every journey conceals another journey within its lines: the path not taken and the forgotten angle."

- Jeanette Winterson (via theinkedquill)
(Source: booklover, via theinkedquill)
64928
24
Mar

alwaysanoriginal:

Well played, David Karp. Well played.

Thought I’d share for those who didn’t take the time to see these amazing pieces of genius :P

(via thefirsthorcrux)
788
18
Mar

prettybooks:

(by Andreina B)

(via theinkedquill)
6717
11
Mar

helloyoucreatives:

Star Wars Identities

(Source: justinrampage, via theinkedquill)