Sturdy, lightweight carbon foam has many structural and insulating applications in aerospace engineering, energy storage and temperature maintenance. Current methods to create this material run into difficulties when trying to make the product strong, lightweight, environmentally friendly and low-cost. Now, a group reports a method to produce such a carbon foam by using super-toasted bread.

Researchers examined two aspects of additive manufacturing (AM), or 3-D printing, that could have cybersecurity implications and harmful economic impact: printing orientation and insertion of fine defects. They found that because CAD files do not give instructions for printer head orientation, malefactors could deliberately alter the process without detection. Also, sub-millimeter defects that can appear between printed layers with exposure to fatigue and the elements were found to be undetectable by industrial monitoring techniques.

A new generation of indestructible bridges could be possible, thanks to new research. An engineer has taken a design process called ‘form-finding’, inspired by the natural world, into another level. This could, for the first time, lead to the design of bridges and buildings that can take any combination of permanent loading without generating complex stresses. Such structures will have enhanced safety, and long durability, without the need for repair or restructuring.

Scientists have made an object disappear by using a material with nano-size particles that can enhance specific properties on the object’s surface.

A drilling tool that will withstand the heat of geothermal drilling has now been developed by scientists. The downhole hammer attaches to the end of a column of drill pipe and cuts through rock with a rapid hammering action similar to that of a jackhammer. Downhole hammers are not new — the oil and gas and mining industries have used them since the 1950s — but the older design, with its reliance on oil-based lubricants, plastic and rubber O-rings, isn’t suited for the hotter temperatures of geothermal drilling.

Moisture can destroy mortar over time — for example when cracks form as a result of frost. A team of scientists has found an unusual way to protect mortar from moisture: When the material is being mixed, they add a biofilm — a soft, moist substance produced by bacteria.

A new earthquake-resilient pipeline has been designed to better protect southern California’s water utility network from natural disasters. The test mimicked a fault rupture that can occur during an earthquake when global plates begin to slip past each other, causing the ground to shift and deform.

Researchers have designed a low-cost, stable and ultrafast responsive sensor that is easy to manufacture, overcoming the challenge of producing a simple, fast and highly sensitive version.

Researchers have developed a lattice structure capable of absorbing a wide range of vibrations while also being useful as a load-bearing component — for example, in propellers, rotors and rockets. It can absorb vibrations in the audible range, which are the most undesirable in engineering applications.

Researchers are developing a common language that can be used by computer software tools to describe materials at their smallest scale, with the ultimate aim of designing faster and better materials for our everyday lives.