If you want to measure the corrosion progress or the performance of a fuel cell, impedance spectroscopy is a suitable technique. This allows you, for example, to monitor processes within electrochemistry such as corrosion over time by taking measurements at regular intervals. Materials science meets electrical engineering. Suppose you are an electrician and you want … Continue reading Impedance spectroscopy: monitoring of electrochemical processes→
Lasers are everywhere around us, and are indispensable in our daily lives in applications such as metal cutting and welding, in DVD players and laser printers, to send signals through glass fibers, or to sinter particles to each other in 3D printing manufacturing processes. And where would science fiction movies like Star Wars be without … Continue reading Laser: social medium avant la lettre→
Batteries exist by the grace of people who want to be mobile at all times. Lithium ion batteries are especially popular because of their high energy density – up to 200 Watts of energy per kilogram of battery. But also because they can be recharged over and over again without deteriorating significantly. And that’s why … Continue reading Electrochemistry behind rechargeable lithium ion batteries→
Materials are the building bricks of everything that we see around us. Where would smartphones, cars, buildings or solar cells be without the right materials? Materials are so self-evident that we almost forget how special they are. Materials science provides an answer to the questions ‘Why is that peculiar material suitable for that application?’ and … Continue reading Materials science in a nutshell→
Clay is the most important raw material for traditional ceramics such as bricks, tiles, sanitary ceramics and tableware. The word ‘earthenware’ for ceramic pots and jugs is an indication that their raw materials are literally obtained from the ground. Clay is a natural product whose composition varies. Clay particles are flat hexagonal plates with a … Continue reading Traditional and advanced ceramics→
Raw materials as the source for products are exhaustible. How to deal with this in the best way? You can look at this from different angles. Materials saving, for example, is an option: use less material for a product than you originally intended, so take a look at the design. If you have a material … Continue reading Sustainable use of materials→
You can download digital files from the internet via your glass fibre optic cable or through copper wire – coax cables, telephone cables (such as ADSL) or network cables (‘twisted pair’). One bit of information goes nearly as fast through copper as through glass, with two-thirds of the speed of light. This information is carried … Continue reading Data faster through glass fibre or copper?→
More and more, light metals as aluminium or magnesium take the place of polymers as polycarbonate with respect to the housing of smartphones, tablets or notebooks. Of these materials as such, polycarbonate is the lightest with a density of 1.2 g/cm3. This would argue in favour of this material; after all, the lighter such a … Continue reading Polymers or light metals as housing for gadgets?→
The board of the Netherlands Ceramic Society (NKV) is pleased to invite you for our next meeting on Thursday May 12. On this date, you are welcome in Restaurant Croy De Goffert in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, for the following program that mainly deals with interaction between young ceramic researchers that present their research, and experienced … Continue reading Student Speech Contest during 12-May meeting of Netherlands Ceramic Society (NKV)→
