Via newscientisttech.com -
"Diamond"-coated gadgets
Portable gizmos such as phones, handheld computers and mp3 players can easily get scuffed, dirty and sticky.
Bulky covers are one option, but Nokia in Finland has been experimenting with plastic casings coated with a diamond-like material made from coal. The material is more protective and grime resistant, as well as cheap and bio-degradable.
To make the material electric current is fed through coal graphite. This creates plasma, which is directed towards a plastic casing by high-voltage electrodes. The coal ions penetrate the surface and bond to form an amorphous, diamond-like coating less than 100 nanometres thick. The process works at room temperature, meaning even cheap plastics can be coated this way.
The coating is very tough, but also smooth to the touch. It is also conductive and therefore antistatic, so does not attract dirt easily. Furthermore, the surface reflects and diffracts light in a similar way to shiny metal. And, when the owner has grown tired of the gismo and binned it, the thin layer of coal will eventually degrade naturally.
Read the full diamond-like gadgets patent application.
Ice-bullet welding
High-velocity ice bullets could someday be used to weld everything from car parts to industrial components. The trick could provide an alternative to heat, electric arcs or bulky hydraulics for precision spot welding.
Researchers at Ohio State University, US, freeze water into the shape of a sharp bullet and use a gas gun to fire them at a metal sheet. These high-energy projectiles briefly plasticise the metal, causing it to deform and bond with whatever it is touching. Carefully aiming bullets at near point blank range can very quickly be used to create precision welds.
If a metal sheet is backed with a carefully-shaped material, a barrage of ice bullets can also be used to shape the metal. And the only waste product is water when the ice melts.
Read the full ice bullet welding patent application.
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