Scientists have leaped over a major hurdle in efforts to begin commercial production of a form of carbon that could rival silicon in its potential for revolutionizing electronics devices ranging from supercomputers to cell phones. Called graphene, the material consists of a layer of graphite 50,000 times thinner than a human hair with unique electronic prope […]
Most polymers -- materials made of long, chain-like molecules -- are very good insulators for both heat and electricity. But scientists have now found a way to transform the most widely used polymer, polyethylene, into a material that conducts heat just as well as most metals, yet remains an electrical insulator.
Scientists recently reported a new technique for directly writing composites of nanoparticles and polymers. Recent years have seen significant advances in the properties achieved by both these materials, and so researchers have begun to blend these materials into nanocomposites that access the properties of both materials.
How clean is clean when it comes to printed circuit boards and assemblies? While John Perry, IPC technical project manager, can enumerate a litany of complex variables that come into play with an answer to that question, a new cleaning standard, IPC-5704, Cleanliness Requirements for Unpopulated Printed Boards, defines the recommended requirements for the cl […]
According to a new technical market research report, GLOBAL MARKETS FOR INDUSTRIAL AND UTILITY SOLAR-THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES, the global market for industrial and utility solar-thermal technologies is worth an estimated $3.7 billion in 2009, but is expected to increase to nearly $13 billion in 2014, for a 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.9%.