polymer

The term polymer /ˈpä-lə-mər/ encompasses a very large, broad classes of compounds, both natural and synthetic, with a wide variety of properties. Because of the extraordinary range of properties of polymeric materials,[2] they play an essential and ubiquitous roles in everyday life,[3] from those of familiar synthetic plastics and other materials of day-to-day work and home life, to the natural biopolymers that are fundamental to biological structure and function.

For more information about polymer check the Wikipedia article here

ZME Science posts about polymer

Science ABC: Hippos red sweat

Fri, Mar 8, 2013

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Ever since the days of the ancient Greek, people were puzzled by the fact that apparently, hippos sweat blood; this belief propagated for more than a millenium. Now, we know that the thick red substance, which oozes from glands all over its skin, is one of the hippo’s many ingenious survival tools. Thing is, hippos [...]

Self-assembling polymer increases HDD memory capacity by a factor of five

Wed, Nov 14, 2012

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Data storage has reached great heights in the past two decades. You can now fit in a typical PC hard-drive thousands of CDs and millions of floppy disks (who else remembers these?). However, magnetic hard drive developers have almost reached the physical limit to where they can cram up data. Researchers at University of Texas at [...]

Transparent solar cells could be used onto entire buildings, screens, and more

Mon, Nov 12, 2012

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This has the potential to be the holy graal of solar energy – UCLA researchers have developed a new organic polymer that produces electricity, is nearly transparent and much more resistant than silicone. If you think about solar cells, usually, the blacker the better – the blacker they are, the less energy is lost. But [...]

Nanomaterials to prevent speeding bullets

Thu, Nov 8, 2012

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New tests conducted by MIT researchers working at the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies showed nanomaterials could lead to better armor against pretty much everything, from all sort of bullets to micrometeorites. Go small to go big In the good old days, if you wanted a good armor, you had to bulk up. First it was [...]

Sponge polymer soaks up oil and turns it into gel – viable option for cleaning oil spills

Tue, Oct 9, 2012

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Oil spills are one of the most devastating man-made ecological disasters out there. During such an outbreak, millions of gallons of oil can end up in the ocean, killing countless marine life, as well as harming the ecosystem. Handling such disasters, beyond pointing fingers which comes to no avail to the marine life, has become [...]

New polymer aerogels might become the wonder insulating material

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

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Since they were first invented in 1931, aerogels have become widely used in the industry, mostly for insulation purposes, thanks to their low thermal conductivity and light weight. Traditional silica aerogels, however, are brittle and obtuse, typically unsuited for applications where flexing of the material would occur. A novel class of polymer aerogels seeks to fix [...]

New biocompatible, self-healing gel is perfect replacement for cartilages

Thu, Sep 6, 2012

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A team of experts in mechanics, materials, medicine and tissue engineering have managed to create a self replicating gel which can stretch about 21 times its length. The water-based tough gel is also self-healing and biocompatible, which means it could be perfect for people with cartilage injuries. When 1+1 isn’t 2 The new hydrogel (names [...]

New polymer coating technique leads to first-ever completely plastic solar cell and makes way for even thinner electronics

Fri, Apr 20, 2012

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One of the cutting edge technologies currently used today in manufacturing allows for printing materials directly onto a surface to create electrically functioning devices which are very thin and flexible. The best example of such an application are organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), widely used as displays for most new generation smartphones commercially available now. The [...]

Roofs that change colour to save energy

Mon, Oct 26, 2009

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When it’s really hot and sunny outside, a black roof gets really hot, while a white roof reflects rays from the sun and keeps the house cooler. During the wintertime, a black roof absorbs more heat and helps you save more energy, but in the summer, that can be a really pain. Luckily enough, some [...]

New Enzyme Could Revolutionize Plastic Production

Sat, Nov 15, 2008

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Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA for short) is a thermoplastic and transparent plastic that’s called acrylic glass for short. In the not so distant future it could be made from natural products such as sugars, alcohols or fatty acids. This process is much more environmentally friendly than the process used now. PMMA is manufactured by polymerising methyl [...]

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