Composite materials used in aircraft wings and fuselages are typically manufactured in large, industrial-sized ovens: Multiple polymer layers are blasted with temperatures up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit, and solidified to form a solid, resilient material. Using this approach, considerable energy is required first to heat the oven, then the gas around it, and finally the actual composite.
The nano electronics market is strengthening on the back of a raft of new technologies and products such as mobile wireless devices, the internet of things (IoT) and cloud computing.
Optical computing has been held back by a lack of tiny light emitters to transmit data between a computer’s components, but new material options could overcome this barrier.
Researchers build “teeny, tiny structures” that can change infrared to visible light.
