Studying evaporation: A mechanical engineer with the McKelvey School of Engineering combined properties similar to those seen in a lotus leaf (above) with those found on rose petals to find a more efficient way for droplets to evaporate from a surface. McKelvey Engineering Mechanical Engineer Creates Bioinspired Evaporation Technique When drops of water touch the surface of a lotus flower leaf, they form beads and roll off, collecting dust particles along the way. In contrast, water droplets on a rose petal also form beads, but remain pinned to the petal’s surface. A mechanical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis combined the two concepts to find a more efficient way for droplets to evaporate from a surface. Patricia Weisensee, assistant…

• www.china-kangda.com
• August 21, 2021
• 346

With the help of color-changing fibers, MIT researchers develop a mathematical model to predict a knot’s stability. Credit: Image courtesy of the researchers How Strong Is Your Knot? With help from spaghetti and color-changing fibers, a new mathematical model predicts a knot’s stability. In sailing, rock climbing, construction, and any activity requiring the securing of ropes, certain knots are known to be stronger than others. Any seasoned sailor knows, for instance, that one type of knot will secure a sheet to a headsail, while another is better for hitching a boat to a piling.  But what exactly makes one knot more stable than another has not been well-understood, until now.  MIT mathematicians and engineers have developed a mathematical model that…

• www.china-kangda.com
• August 21, 2021
• 286

An untethered model that is fully wireless and autonomous, weighing less than 1 gram and carrying its battery and all electronic components on its back. Credit: EPFL Researchers at EPFL have developed an ultra-light robotic insect that uses its soft artificial muscles to move at 3 cm per second across different types of terrain. It can be folded or crushed and yet continue to move. Imagine swarms of robotic insects moving around us as they perform various tasks. It might sound like science fiction, but it’s actually more plausible than you might think. Researchers at EPFL’s School of Engineering have developed a soft robotic insect, propelled at 3 cm per second by artificial muscles. The team developed two versions of…

• www.china-kangda.com
• August 21, 2021
• 512

The MIT startup Pison Technology, founded by Dexter Ang ’05, is using sensors to turn biopotentials on the skin into digital commands for smartphones, robots, IoT equipment, and more. Credit: Pison Pison, founded by Dexter Ang (MIT ’05), enables people to control digital interfaces, such as their phones, through brain signals. Dexter Ang ’05, AF ’16 had been working as a high-frequency trader before he learned his mother had ALS. Over the next year, he watched her slowly lose the ability to walk, feed herself, and even click a mouse to read an e-book, one of her favorite activities. The progression was painful to watch, but what Ang couldn’t accept was that his mother’s physical condition could so negatively affect…

• www.china-kangda.com
• August 7, 2021
• 526

Sandia National Laboratories researchers in the Mechanics of Materials department utilize the new fracture testing hangers for traditional interlaminar composite fracture testing as well as advanced hybrid composite laminates, as shown here. Credit: Sandia National Laboratories Fracture technology innovation allows faster materials testing. Tim Briggs has built a career at Sandia National Laboratories tearing and breaking things apart with his team of collaborators. Now, he’s developed a fracture-testing tool that could help make everything from aircraft structural frames to cellphones stronger. Briggs has filed a patent for a device associated with bonded structural composite materials with the deceptively mundane title “Mode I Fracture Testing Fixture.” The device, a small set of two hangers no larger than a hand, fits into…

• www.china-kangda.com
• August 7, 2021
• 468

Frost breaks off and “jumps” upward due to an electrostatic charge. Credit: Virginia Tech If you have ever gotten up on a winter morning and thrown yourself into the arduous task of scraping frost from a windshield, a Virginia Tech lab is engaging science that could make your life much easier. In research funded by the National Science Foundation, Associate Professor Jonathan Borekyo has led a team in developing a potential solution for frost removal by way of electrostatics. As water freezes, positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons separate. Frozen ice crystals become electrified as the top of the frost becomes warmer than the bottom of the frost. This causes charged ions to move from top to bottom (warm to…

• www.china-kangda.com
• August 7, 2021
• 774

Programmed magnetic nanobeads paired with an off-the-shelf cellphone and plug-in diagnostic tool can diagnose COVID-19 in 55 minutes or less, according to Rice University engineers. Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University Programmed magnetic nanobeads enable diagnostic device designed at Rice University. COVID-19 can be diagnosed in 55 minutes or less with the help of programmed magnetic nanobeads and a diagnostic tool that plugs into an off-the-shelf cellphone, according to Rice University engineers. The Rice lab of mechanical engineer Peter Lillehoj has developed a stamp-sized microfluidic chip that measures the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein in blood serum from a standard finger prick. The nanobeads bind to SARS-CoV-2 N protein, a biomarker for COVID-19, in the chip and transport it to an…

• www.china-kangda.com
• August 7, 2021
• 383

Three proof of concept experimental setups that use acoustic tweezers in Petri dishes. From left to right, a standing pattern for sorting, a whirlpool for concentrating, and high-frequency beam-like waves for concentration and stimulation. Credit: Tony Huang, Duke University Three proof-of-concept prototypes seek to make contactless ‘acoustic tweezer’ technology available to a wide array of laboratories. Mechanical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a set of prototypes for manipulating particles and cells in a Petri dish using sound waves. The devices, known in the scientific community as “acoustic tweezers,” are the first foray into making these types of tools, which have thus far been relegated to laboratories with specific equipment and expertise, available for use in a wide array of…

• www.china-kangda.com
• August 7, 2021
• 744

Boston Micro Fabrication’s machines use a technology co-developed by MIT Professor Nicholas Fang to print millimeter-sized products with details at the micron scale. Credit: courtesy of BMF Technologies Professor Nicholas Fang’s startup Boston Micro Fabrication uses a novel light-focusing method to make ultraprecise printers. Whether it’s computer chips, smartphone components, or camera parts, the hardware in many products is constantly getting smaller. The trend is pushing companies to come up with new ways to make the parts that power our world. Enter Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF). The company was co-founded by MIT Professor Nicholas Fang in 2016 to improve the resolution and precision of 3D printing. Today BMF is helping customers in the race toward ever smaller parts by offering…

• www.china-kangda.com
• July 27, 2021
• 337