Stories
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Briefs: Materials
Lithium Fluoride as a Polysulfide Shuttle Inhibitor for Lithium Sulfur Chemistry
In a lithium sulfur cell, the reduction of sulfur to lithium sulfide is a critical series of reactions that provides a large theoretical capacity of 1,672 mAh/g sulfur. One of many challenges in this system is the solubility of generated lithium polysulfides during the...
Briefs: Materials
Fibers of Aligned Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes and Process for Making the Same
Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are fullerenes of closed-cage carbon molecules typically arranged in hexagons and pentagons. Commonly known as “buckytubes,” these cylindrical carbon structures have extraordinary properties, including high electrical and thermal...
Application Briefs: Motion Control
Rack and pinions are linear actuators that play a critical role in a wide range of linear motion control applications. While rack and pinions are commonly thought of as a timeless...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Device for Direct Measurement of the Diffusivity and Molecular Release Through Membranes and Filters
Concentration-driven molecular diffusion is a fundamental phenomenon essential for the transport of nutrients in cells, for oxygen exchange in the lungs, and mating of chemicals in industrial reactors and the food industry. Thus, diffusion plays a...
Briefs: Medical
High-Density, Homogenous Bacterial Spore Distributions on Test Surfaces
Thus far, spore transfer had been successful from the polycarbonate membrane onto stainless steel, aluminum, and to some extent, glass. In order to image the endospores under an ESEM (environmental scanning electron microscope), the spores were transferred onto a 4-mm-diameter,...
INSIDER: Medical
Sound waves passing through the air, objects that break a body of water and cause ripples, or shockwaves from earthquakes all are considered “elastic” waves. These waves travel at the surface...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Sample return missions have the ability to vastly increase scientific understanding of the origin, history, current status, and resource potential of solar system objects including asteroids,...
Briefs: Materials
Carbon Nanotube Tower-Based Supercapacitor
A new technology to create electrochemical double-layer supercapacitors is provided using carbon nanotubes as electrodes of the storage medium. This invention allows efficient transport between the capacitor electrodes through the porous nature of the nanotubes, and has a low interface resistance between...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
This method of interconnecting ceramic integrated circuits to organic printed circuit boards (PCBs) is designed to substantially increase the life of the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Technology for a Comet Sample Return Mission Version 2
A standoff sample collection system would be capable of quickly obtaining a sample from environments as varied as comets, asteroids, and permanently shadowed craters on the Moon from vehicles ranging from traditional planetary spacecraft to platforms such as hovering rotorcraft or balloons at...
Briefs: Materials
Use of Solvent-Free Conditions/Dry Mixing for Functionalizing Carbon Nanotubes
Two methods have been developed for functionalizing carbon nanotubes in solvent-free conditions. In one method, purified single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and a diazonium salt are added to a metal vial, which is loaded with a stainless steel ball bearing. The metal...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Typical lighter-than-air vehicles utilizing a superpressure design such as balloons, aerostats, or blimps, have one or more fittings attached to the gas containment skin that can serve as load attachment...
Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Torque sensing technology ATI Industrial Automation Apex, NC 919-772-0115 www.ati-ia.com
ATI Industrial Automation is developing multi-axis, force/torque sensing technology to be...
Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
LS16 liquid flow sensor Sensirion Westlake Village, CA 805-409-4900 www.sensirion.com
A liquid flow sensor from Sensirion will measure the impact of microgravity on the effectiveness of liquid flow. Among...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Probe Positioning System for Antenna Range
In situ measurements of antenna patterns on rovers in a simulated terrain are difficult to make with conventional antenna range techniques. The desired pattern data covers a hemisphere above the antenna of interest, which is close to the ground. This is incompatible with traditional measurements that place...
Application Briefs: Motion Control
Monitoring the level of liquid can be accomplished through the use of a pressure transducer. The density of the liquid and its height create pressure on the diaphragm of the...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Novel Chemistry for Deposition of MgF2 Thin Films
Magnesium fluoride (MgF2) thin films are useful for many different optics applications. In particular, they are useful for ultraviolet anti-reflective and protective coatings. However, in the far UV, one needs a very small, controllable amount of material to get the best optical performance. That is...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
There is a need to advance the development of high energy density batteries, along with other efficient alternative energy sources. The need for batteries having a higher energy...
Briefs: Materials
Touch Temperature Coating for Electrical Equipment on Spacecraft
A coating has been developed that can be applied to spacecraft equipment to significantly increase the allowable touch temperature limit, while only marginally degrading the heat transfer to the environment.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Lightweight Liquid Helium Dewar for High-Altitude Balloon Payloads
Astrophysical observations at millimeter wavelengths require large (2-to-5- meter diameter) telescopes carried to altitudes above 35 km by scientific research balloons. The scientific performance is greatly enhanced if the telescope is cooled to temperatures below 10 K with no...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Li-Ion Battery and Supercapacitor Hybrid Design for Long Extravehicular Activities
With the need for long periods of extravehicular activities (EVAs) on the Moon or Mars or a near-asteroid, the need for long-performance batteries has increased significantly. The energy requirements for the EVA suit, as well as surface systems such as rovers, have...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
On-Chip Microfluidic Components for In Situ Analysis, Separation, and Detection of Amino Acids
The Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory at GSFC has identified amino acids in meteorites and returned cometary samples by using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LCMS). These organic species are key markers for...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Method for Reduction of Silver Biocide Plating on Metal Surfaces
Silver ions in aqueous solutions (0.05 to 1 ppm) are used for microbial control in water systems. The silver ions remain in solution when stored in plastic containers, but the concentration rapidly decreases to non-biocidal levels when stored in metal containers. The silver deposits...
Briefs: Materials
High-Performance, Low-Temperature-Operating, Long-Lifetime Aerospace Lubricants
The synthesis and characterization of six new ionic liquids, with fluoroether moeties on the imidazolium ring, each with vapor pressures shown to be
Briefs: Materials
Carbon Nanotube Microarrays Grown on Nanoflake Substrates
This innovation consists of a new composition of matter where single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are grown in aligned arrays from nanostructured flakes that are coated in Fe catalyst. This method of growth of aligned SWNTs, which can yield well over 400 percent SWNT mass per unit...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators provide the highest force-to-weight ratio of any known actuator. They can be designed for a wide variety of form factors from flat, thin packages, to...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Recirculating 1-K-Pot for Pulse-Tube Cryostats
A paper describes a 1-K-pot that works with a commercial pulse tube cooler for astrophysics instrumentation testbeds that require temperatures
Articles: Aerospace
When airline passengers travel in coach class, expectations are fairly low with regard to comfort. For example, most seats only offer two positions: straight for takeoff and landing, and a slight recline for the journey. Coach seats are relatively simple and lightweight structures compared to their more sophisticated counterparts in business class, first class, and super first class. Whereas a coach seat weighs approximately 100 pounds, seats in higher classes weigh 200 to 300 pounds each, depending on their features.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Future robotic exploration of near- Earth asteroids and the vertical and inverted rock walls of lava caves and cliff faces on Mars and other planetary bodies would require a method of gripping...
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Q&A: Physical Sciences
Webcasts
Webinars: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The Over-Engineering Trap: Aligning Custom Equipment Specs with Operational...
Webinars: Communications
Where Time and Frequency Converge: Multi-Channel RF Analysis for Radar and...
Webinars: Software
Driving Reliability: Simulation Driven EMI Techniques for Modern Vehicle...
Editorial Webinars: Software
Smarter Aerospace Manufacturing & Design with Digital Twins and Agentic AI
Summits: AR/AI
2026 Battery & Electrification Summit (Online)
Podcasts: Information Technology
Arm’s Agentic AI CPU: Engineering the Next Generation of AI Data Centers
