For emerging wearable tech to advance, it needs improved power sources. Now researchers from Michigan State University have provided a potential solution via crumpled carbon nanotube forests, or CNT forests. Changyong Cao, director of MSU’s Soft Machines and Electronics Laboratory, led a team of scientists in creating highly stretchable supercapacitors for powering wearable electronics. The…
Creating 3-D Hands To Keep Us Safe, Increase Security
Creating a 3-D replica of someone’s hand complete with all five fingerprints and breaking into a secure vault sounds like a plot from a James Bond movie. But Michigan State University Distinguished Professor Anil Jain recently discovered this may not be as far-fetched as once thought and wants security companies and the public to be…
Gold Star: Seeking The Origin Of Gold In The Universe
So you think the gold in your ring or watch came from a mine in Africa or Australia? Well, think farther away. Much, much farther. Michigan State University researchers, working with colleagues from Technical University Darmstadt in Germany, are zeroing in on the answer to one of science’s most puzzling questions: Where did heavy elements,…
Dust Grains Could Be Remnants of Stellar Explosions Billions of Years Ago
Microscopic dust particles have been found in meteoritic material on Earth, particles that were likely formed in stellar explosions that occurred long before the creation of our star, the sun. Whether some of these particles of stardust, known as “pre-solar grains,” came from classical nova explosions is the focus of ongoing experimental nuclear physics research…
Building a Better Semiconductor
Research led by Michigan State University could someday lead to the development of new and improved semiconductors. In a paper published in the journal Science Advances, the scientists detailed how they developed a method to change the electronic properties of materials in a way that will more easily allow an electrical current to pass through.…
Additives to Biodegrade Plastics Don’t Work
Recycling plastic works; additives to biodegrade plastic do not. A new study from Michigan State University shows that several additives that claim to break down polyethylene (i.e., plastic bags) and polyethylene terephthalate (i.e., soda bottles) simply don’t work in common disposal situations such as landfills or composting. “Making improper or unsubstantiated claims can produce consumer…
Sensors Could Warn of Bridge, Building Defects
Imagine a bridge or a dam that could sense a structural defect before it happens, diagnose what the problem will be and alert the authorities before something bad happens. Three Michigan State University College of Engineering researchers are developing a new technology known as substrate computing. This will allow sensing, communication and diagnostic computing, all…