Topic description and stories

Retrieval of a stainless steel part made by 3D printing

Using lasers to ‘heat and beat’ 3D-printed steel could help reduce costs

30 Oct 2023

Researchers have developed a new method for 3D printing metal that could help reduce costs and make more efficient use of resources.

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Expanding polymer-coated gold nanoparticles

Little ANTs: researchers build the world’s tiniest engine

02 May 2016

Researchers have built a nano-engine that could form the basis for future applications in nano-robotics, including robots small enough to enter...

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Venus transits the rising Sun

Mirage maker

30 Oct 2015

Aditya Sadhanala wanders over to the wall, turns a pulley, and a wooden box about a metre squared swings up and away. Below it gleams an array of...

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Inhaler 1

New imaging method could improve the treatment of the 5 million asthma sufferers in the UK

13 Nov 2014

A new method of observing exactly what happens to drug particles as they travel from an asthma inhaler to the lungs could lead to the development of...

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Asteroidea Electrica

The art of engineering: images from the frontiers of technology

12 Nov 2014

From the kaleidoscopic swirl of a neural network, to ribbons of crystals unfolding like sheets of wrapping paper, to the relief on the faces of...

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An efficient route to manufacturing nanomaterials with light through plasmon-induced laser-threading of gold nanoparticle strings

Building ‘invisible’ materials with light

28 Jul 2014

A new technique which uses light like a needle to thread long chains of particles could help bring sci-fi concepts such as cloaking devices one step...

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The atomic building site

19 Jun 2014

The ability to design, control and build new materials at the level of individual atoms could open up a whole new world of electronic devices.

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When twisted light matches the twist of nanostructures, strong interactions with chiral molecules could arise

Exposing ‘evil twins’

16 May 2014

A combination of nanotechnology and a unique twisting property of light could lead to new methods for ensuring the purity and safety of...

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Revolutionary solar cells double as lasers

28 Mar 2014

Latest research finds that the trailblazing ‘perovskite’ material used in solar cells can double up as a laser, strongly suggesting the astonishing...

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Left: Laser apparatus used to study singlet fission in Cambridge. Right: Celestia sun

Two for one in solar power

18 Nov 2013

A process that could revolutionise solar energy harvesting has been efficiently demonstrated in solution for the first time.

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Anti-fraud lasers and inks for transparent electronics

05 Nov 2013

Two prototypes – a detection device which users lasers to fight fraud, and a piano which demonstrates the potential of printed electronics – have...

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The winning entries for the Zeiss engineering photos competition 2013

Inspiring images: Engineering captured on camera

16 Oct 2013

From rainbow coloured liquid-crystal molecules, to tunnels deep under the ground, this year’s entries from the University of Cambridge Department of...

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