Mechanical systems, such as engines and motors, rely on two principal types of motions of stiff components: linear motion, which involves an object moving from one point to another in a straight line; and rotational motion, which involves an object rotating on an axis. Nature has developed far more sophisticated forms of movement — or…
Using Shark Scales to Design Better Drones, Planes, and Wind Turbines
To build more aerodynamic machines, researchers are drawing inspiration from an unlikely source: the ocean. A team of evolutionary biologists and engineers at Harvard University, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of South Carolina, have shed light on a decades-old mystery about sharkskin and, in the process, demonstrated a new, bioinspired structure that could…
Single Metalens Focuses All Colors of the Rainbow in One Point
Metalenses — flat surfaces that use nanostructures to focus light — promise to revolutionize optics by replacing the bulky, curved lenses currently used in optical devices with a simple, flat surface. But, these metalenses have remained limited in the spectrum of light they can focus well. Now a team of researchers at the Harvard John…
Now Entering Lithium Niobate Valley
If the epicenter of the electronics revolution is named after the material that made it possible — silicon? — then the birthplace of the photonics revolution may well be named after lithium niobate. While Lithium Niobate Valley doesn’t have the same ring as Silicon Valley, this material could be for optics what silicon was for…
Image Of The Day: New RoboBee Flies, Dives, Swims And Explodes Out Of The Water
We’ve seen RoboBees that can fly, stick to walls, and dive into water. Now, get ready for a hybrid RoboBee that can fly, dive into water, swim, propel itself back out of water, and safely land. New floating devices allow this multipurpose air-water microrobot to stabilize on the water’s surface before an internal combustion system…
Tough, Self-Healing Rubber Developed
Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a new type of rubber that is as tough as natural rubber but can also self-heal. The research is published in Advanced Materials. Self-healing materials aren’t new — researchers at SEAS have developed self-healing hydrogels, which rely on water…
New Pop-Up Strategy Inspired by Cuts, Not Folds
Origami-inspired materials use folds in materials to embed powerful functionality. However, all that folding can be pretty labor intensive. Now, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) are drawing material inspiration from another ancient Japanese paper craft — kirigami. Kirigami relies on cuts, rather than folds, to change…
Mimicking Nature’s Cellular Architectures Via 3D Printing
Nature does amazing things with limited design materials. Grass, for example, can support its own weight, resist strong wind loads, and recover after being compressed. The plant’s hardiness comes from a combination of its hollow, tubular macrostructure and porous microstructure. These architectural features work together to give grass its robust mechanical properties. Inspired by natural…
World’s Smallest Radio Receiver has Building Blocks the Size of 2 Atoms
Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have made the world’s smallest radio receiver – built out of an assembly of atomic-scale defects in pink diamonds. This tiny radio — whose building blocks are the size of two atoms — can withstand extremely harsh environments and is biocompatible, meaning…
Paving the Way Toward Novel Strong, Conductive Materials
Action figures of the Man of Steel are rarely made out of steel. They are, like seemingly everything in our lives, made of cheap, easy to mold plastic. But what if steel and other metals were as easy to work with as plastic? Bulk metallic glasses are metallic alloys whose neatly ordered atomic structure can…