Influenza or a cold? A new technology can help you
Smart gadgets in the home might soon be able to tell you what’s wrong with you. But the technology is good news for a lot of other things too.
Materials
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Innovative recovery of valuable raw materials from ‘red mud’
Waste slags from the metallurgy industries often contain valuable materials, but in very small concentrations. This means that large areas of valuable land are used to accommodate reservoirs filled with what is sometimes toxic waste. We now want to use hydrogen to convert this waste into a resource.
A new reuse guide seeks to reduce material waste
How to know whether building materials are fit for reuse? A new guide can tell.
Atomic-level 3D models show us how gadgets work
New research on semiconductors using microscopes that provide 3-D models at an atomic level could one day have an impact on your electronic gadgets.
Climate-friendly metal production – why is it difficult?
Most people know that metals are made from ore, but how do we make gold from gravel? That’s the process we must understand to be able to make the metal industry climate friendly. Here are some alternatives for CO2-free metal production.
Hydrogen production and carbon capture – in a single step
A team of Norwegian researchers has succeeded in producing hydrogen using a far more efficient method than is currently in use. The technology was ready as early as in 2017. The team has also demonstrated that the process can be scaled up for commercial application.
Can lightweight metal help the green shift?
The climate will benefit if we shift to using aluminium in more and more construction. Buyers need to look past the procurement costs and consider the total life cycle costs instead.
Hermann Göring’s Luftwaffe and the $6 billion deal
How the unlikely combination of WWII Germany, a modest English engineer who created a worker’s paradise, an ambitious industrialist prosecuted as a traitor and a hardworking PhD helped build modern Norway, one aluminium ingot at a time.
Demand for rare minerals and metals creates eco-dilemma
The world is crying out for rare minerals for the manufacture of electric cars, wind turbines and other technologies that we simply need more of. But how can we guarantee access to these resources without threatening the natural world and mankind as we know it?
The benefits of keeping concrete warm during transport in arctic conditions
Keeping concrete warm during transport between the mixing plant and construction site results in a better, cheaper and more eco-friendly product. A new type of concrete mixer truck can result in less wastage and better quality of this important building material.
New ultra-high material efficient, low-cost solar cells — using nanowires
A new method using nanowires can make solar panels much more efficient and much cheaper than today.
Spider silk inspires a new material with extraordinary mechanical properties
Researchers at NTNU have developed a new elastomer with unprecedented stiffness and toughness, inspired by spider silk.
Combating marine waste and ghost fishing with new materials
Ghost fishing and plastic waste from the fisheries industry is becoming a major environmental problem. Can we address the issue by using degradable plastics? Scientists at a new research centre are aiming to find the answers and develop the systems we need.
A new way to look at the inner workings of tiny magnets
Movies of micromagnets created by researchers at NTNU could further our understanding of materials for the next generation of computers.
Why do some alloys become stronger at room temperature?
For more than 100 years, we’ve known that some metal alloys become stronger by being kept at room temperature. But we haven’t understood all the details – until now.
Capturing energy from sunlight with dyes inspired by nature
Solar cells that use special dyes to collect light could one day be integrated into buildings. Researchers at NTNU are trying to find the best dyes for the job.
Engineering materials for a new generation of electronics
Harnessing a fundamental property of electrons called spin could help create a new generation of computer chips and faster, more stable and less power hungry devices. NTNU researchers are studying a type of material that could make this technology feasible.
Right ore choice may create lower emissions
Metal production generates considerable emissions of greenhouse gases. But the type of ore used in production can make a big difference.
Silicon for solar cells becoming more environmentally friendly
New discoveries are making silicon production cleaner, and solar cells of the future will become even more environmentally friendly.
Are discarded mobile phones and electronic waste polluting our seas?
The Norwegian research organisation SINTEF will investigate whether rare earth element minerals contribute to pollution in costal areas. Research scientists from Norway, Denmark and Germany are taking part in the project.
Trees and plants could become new additives in “light” food products
To reduce the fat content in food products, starch has to be added to achieve a good consistency. Cellulose might be able to take over this role in reduced-fat products. And it’s calorie free, too!
Great progress for electronic gadgets of the future
A new discovery is an important step towards smaller, more advanced electronics. And maybe more environmentally friendly gadgets, too.
Kavli Prize in nanoscience goes to four pioneers
Four men share the Kavli Prize in nanoscience for their work on electron microscopy.
A simple way of describing friction — by making it complicated
We all know what friction is — but it turns out to be very difficult to describe. Researchers have simplified a commonly used, century-old model for use at the nanoscale — by making it more complicated.