ceramics.org News, trends and ideas from the world of ceramics. Brought to you by the American Ceramic Society. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:43:27 GMT ListGarden Program 1.3.1 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/august_2008/catalyst_discovery.aspx MIT researchers have discovered a fairly cheap and easy way to store solar power so it can be utilized when the sun is not shining – a development they claim will make solar power a mainstream energy source within the next decade. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:17:45 GMT http://ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/august_2008/cool_fuel_cells.aspx Science also contains a report from researchers in Spain who have developed a new electrolyte that allows a solid oxide fuel cell to operate at temperatures hundreds of degrees lower than those of conventional electrolytes – a development they say could boost the practicality of SOFCs. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:24:55 GMT http://ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/august_2008/ceramic_space_sensor.aspx The European Space Agency reports that small oxygen sensors developed for spacecraft re-entry vehicles are finding applications in a variety of other fields, including healthcare, pollution control and fuel cell operations. According to ESA, the birth of these special sensors began at the University of Stuttgart’s Institute of Space Systems, where researchers were trying to reduce the mass and energy draw of existing units designed for the extreme conditions of space flight. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:26:49 GMT http://ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/august_2008/soaring_aluminum.aspx Aluminum supplies cannot keep pace with demand, because producers are not able get the sufficient electricity to produce the lightweight metal, according to a July 1, 2008, Timesonline article. The Internet news service says a crunch on global power is likely to send aluminum prices – already at historic highs – skyrocketing an additional 33 percent in the next two years. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:27:51 GMT http://ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/august_2008/nano_market.aspx A new report from Lux Research claims that nanotechnology, while perhaps overhyped in the past, has now become pervasive in a broad range of sectors. “Nanomaterials State of the Market Q3 2008: Stealth Success, Broad Impact,” predicts that $147 billion worth of nano-enabled products produced in 2007 will grow to $3.1 trillion by 2015. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:39:46 GMT http://ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/august_2008/invisible.aspx This is the third “invisibility” story we have covered in Ceramics Tech Weekly, and it seems the topic is more than a novelty. The Aug. 11 online edition of Nature News reports that scientists at the University of California at Berkeley have found a way to create materials that are capable of making objects appear invisible to visible light. These artificial substances – called metamaterials – have a negative refractive index so, when light is reflected from or passed through them, it is bent the wrong way. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:41:48 GMT http://www.ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/ctw20080807.aspx We suspect that body armor designers at companies like CoorsTek and Ceradyne are already following up on a recent discovery by MIT engineers. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:51:58 GMT http://www.ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/august_2008/gold_ceramics.aspx Kyocera has succeeded in creating a fine ceramic material that closely resembles 18-karat gold in both color and hardness. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:52:54 GMT http://www.ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/august_2008/soot_capture.aspx Corning Inc.’s new DuraTrap AT filter – made from an aluminum titanate ceramic catalyst substrate said to remove 99 percent of excess carbon soot from diesel exhaust systems – is coming to the U.S. in September in 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDIs. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:54:35 GMT http://www.ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/august2008/super_cables.aspx Are high-efficiency power lines in our future? Superconductor Technologies Inc. and the Los Alamos National Lab think so. STI announced that it and LANL have entered into a collaboration to apply STI's high-temperature superconductor materials expertise to LANL's research initiative to develop HTS coated conductors for power transmission lines. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:25:12 GMT http://www.ceramics.org/news/ceramic_tech_weekly/august_2008/solid_oxide.aspx Global Industry Analysts’ “Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: A Global Strategic Business Report,” projects that the market for SOFCs will reach $443 million by 2010. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:49:55 GMT