openMaterials

I just had a delivery of some Electroactive Polymer (EAP) to experiment with. EAP changes shape when voltage is applied, making it a great material for actuators or sensors. I found a great reference which lists fabrication recipes for making your own EAP. Some of the contributions include - Carbon Nanotube - EAP Ion-exchange Polymer Metal [...]

This happened back in 2008, but Daniel Burd, a 16-year-old school student, developed a way to make plastic bags degrade faster, achieving 43 per cent degradation within six weeks. Using ordinary household chemicals, yeast and tap water he added plastic powder and dirt, creating a solution that encourages microbes which break down plastic to grow. [...]

Tinkercell is a computer-aided design (CAD) tool for synthetic biology. According to New Scientist, the package has a library of the components of life, from which users can pick different cells, membrane proteins, fluorescent proteins, enzymes and genes to create their organism. Tinkercell can then simulate the life form to see if it functions as expected. Features include :: [...]

I’d like to get word out about a new Interactivos? series being held in conjunction with our friends at Medialab-Prado: Call for the presentation of projects to take part in Interactivos? When Process Becomes Paradigm, as part of the programme for artists and creators of LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial (Gijon, Spain). A maximum [...]

A team at the University of Washington have built a circuit that can run on the available power of a tree. The results will be published in an upcoming issue of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Transactions on Nanotechnology. “As far as we know this is the first peer-reviewed paper of someone powering something entirely [...]

Aerogel is the lightest solid material on the planet, up to 99.98% of its volume can be pure air. It insulates space suits and could be used one day to clean up oil spills. And I’ve just discovered you can make it at home! Here is an article about a 10 year old boy [...]