Stories
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Articles: Materials
Altering the traditional intensity distribution of fiber lasers improves weld quality.
Briefs: Aerospace
Titanium-copper alloys for 3D printing could create high-performance alloys for medical device and aerospace applications.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
This hands-on, educational tool highlights the properties of SMA wire.
Briefs: Aerospace
This invention is a highly stable, heat-treatable, and tunable material.
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Undercooled metal technology was developed that features liquid metal (in this case, Field's metal, an alloy of bismuth, indium, and tin) trapped below its melting point in polished, oxide...
Briefs: Automotive
An advanced manufacturing process was developed to produce nano-structured rods and tubes directly from high-performance aluminum alloy powder in a single step. Using a Solid Phase Processing approach,...
Articles: Lighting
Semi-Liquid Metal Anode for Next-Generation Batteries
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have developed a semi-liquid lithium metal-based anode. Lithium batteries made using this new electrode type could have a...
Briefs: Energy
The widespread adoption of thermoelectric devices that can directly convert electricity into thermal energy for cooling and heating has been hindered, in part, by the lack of...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Nitinol-Actuated, Normally Open Valve Assembly (NOVA)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has developed the NOVA zero-leak, permanent isolation valve that helps prevent leaks in space propulsion systems with operating pressures less than or equal to 500 psia. The actuator is made from nitinol, a heat-activated, non-explosive, shape memory alloy and...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Innovators at NASA's Glenn Research Center have developed a new method for making small-diameter, high-grade ball bearings that are less than 0.25” in diameter thanks to the development of a new alloy made...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
From cellphones to satellites, industry spends millions on traditional gold alloy electrical contact coatings. While gold and other metal alloys have been an industry standard to protect metal components from...
NASA Spinoff: Materials
Spinoff is NASA's annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services in the...
Briefs: Materials
A stainless steel alloy — alloy 709 — has potential for elevated-temperature applications such as nuclear reactor structures. It is exceptionally strong and resistant to damage when exposed to high...
Briefs: Materials
New Material Composition Withstands Extreme Impact and Temperature
A super-strong alloy of copper and tantalum was created that can withstand extreme impact and temperature, providing high strength and good electrical conductivity. The alloy is a model system with structure that can be passed on to other alternative material systems. Materials...
Briefs: Aerospace
NASA's Glenn Research Center developed a novel means of articulating the outboard portion of an aircraft wing to create the optimal geometry for given flight conditions. The Spanwise Adaptive Wing (SAW) concept employs a...
Articles: Test & Measurement
This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Shape Memory Alloy Rock Splitters (SMARS)
Glenn's revolutionary Shape Memory Alloy Rock Splitters (SMARS) device is fabricated from nickel-titanium-halfnium (NiTiHf), nickel-titanium-zirconium compositions, or a combination. These compositions contain a secondary, nanometer-sized precipitate phase that is produced through processes of compositional...
Briefs: Materials
Researchers have demonstrated the ability to create amorphous metal (metallic glass) alloys on large scales using 3D printing technology. Metallic glasses lack the crystalline...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Liquid metal printing is integral to the flexible electronics field. Additive manufacturing enables fast fabrication of intricate designs and circuitry. The field features a...
Briefs: Materials
Hardface Coating Systems for Wear and Corrosion Resistance
Metal alloys, such as titanium alloys and steels, are known to have a good combination of mechanical properties for many structural applications, but these metal alloys do not meet the wear and corrosion resistance requirements for some structural applications. Titanium alloys, for example,...
Briefs: Materials
Spintronic devices promise to solve major problems in today's computers, which use massive amounts of electricity to generate heat. This requires expending even more energy for cooling. By contrast, spintronic...
Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
With very little fanfare, a special class of alloys has been finding its way into our daily lives. From indestructible eyewear, to smartphone cameras, to coronary stents, this material is...
Briefs: Materials
USAF-96 Steel is a low-alloy steel that, when thermally processed with the method described here, has the following typical values: an ultimate tensile strength of 245 ksi, yield strength at 0.2% offset of...
Briefs: Energy
A working, rechargeable proton battery was developed that could store more energy than currently available lithium-ion batteries. Potential applications include household storage of...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A new way to treat wood makes it 12 times stronger than natural wood and ten times tougher. The wood substance could be comparable to steel or titanium alloys; it is also comparable to...
Briefs: Energy
Batteries and combustion engines each have distinctive benefits and limitations. Batteries have simple construction and operate silently; however, their energy density (i.e., the energy per unit volume) is poor, and...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
A low-cost sensor technology, called Chemical Identification by Magneto-Elastic Sensing (ChIMES), uses target response materials (TRMs) as actuators in magneto-elastic (M-E) sensors...
Articles: Energy
Learn how advanced materials are creating high-efficiency engines, better powertrains, and lighter components.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Computers use different kinds of memory technologies to store data. Long-term memory — typically a hard disk or flash drive — needs to be dense in order to store as much data as...
Top Stories
Blog: Software
Going for Gold in Winter Olympic Curling
Blog: Energy
Beyond Lithium: The Rise of Calcium-Ion Energy Storage
Blog: Electronics & Computers
The Kitchen Tech Hack Aiming to Revolutionize 3D Printing
Blog: Materials
A Shield for the Next Generation: Lithium Batteries Get a Major Upgrade
Blog: Energy
Batteries that Can Withstand the Cold
Q&A: Physical Sciences
Webcasts
Webinars: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The Over-Engineering Trap: Aligning Custom Equipment Specs with Operational...
Webinars: RF & Microwave Electronics
Where Time and Frequency Converge: Multi-Channel RF Analysis for Radar and...
Webinars: Unmanned Systems
Driving Reliability: Simulation Driven EMI Techniques for Modern Vehicle...
Editorial Webinars: Aerospace
Smarter Aerospace Manufacturing & Design with Digital Twins and Agentic AI
Summits: AR/AI
2026 Battery & Electrification Summit (Online)
Podcasts: Electronics & Computers
Arm’s Agentic AI CPU: Engineering the Next Generation of AI Data Centers
