Science and Technology Current Affairs April 2017

Complete Science and Technology Current Affairs April 2017

MSU Researchers Developed First Stretchable Integrated Circuit

Engineering researchers at East Lansing-based Michigan State University (MSU) announced the creation of the first stretchable integrated circuit made entirely out of an inkjet printer, raising the possibility of the inexpensive production of ‘smart fabric’ on February 20, 2017.
Smart fabric is made of several materials created form nanomaterials and organic compounds, which are dissolved in a solution to produce different electronic links, and are then run through the printer to make the devices.
The technology was developed by Chuan Wang, assistant professor of electric and computer engineering, who also- discovered the material could be produced on a standard printer, giving it a major potential cost advantage over technologies that are expensive to manufacture.
The technology was developed by Chuan Wang, assistant professor of electric and computer engineering, who also discovered the material could be produced on a standard printer, giving it a major potential cost advantage over technologies that are expensive to manufacture.

Scientists Synthesised World’s Strongest Material Graphene using Soyabean

The scientists used the humble soybean to make the world’s strongest material graphene commercially more viable on February 16, 2017.
Graphene is a carbon material that is one atom thick, it’s thin composition and high conductivity means it is used in applications ranging from miniaturised electronics to biomedical devices.

These properties also enable thinner wire connections; providing extensive benefits for computers, solar panels, batteries, sensors and other devices.

Researchers Created ‘Thubber’, a Stretchable Rubber

The researchers created ‘thubber’, a stretchable rubber that packs a thermal conductive punch on February 14, 2017.
The new material, nicknamed ‘thubber’, is an electrically insulating composite that exhibits an unprecedented combination of metal-like thermal conductivity and elasticity similar to soft, biological tissue that can stretch j over six times its initial length.
Our combination of high thermal conductivity and elasticity is especially critical for rapid heat dissipation in applications such as wearable computing and soft robotics, which require mechanical compliance and stretchable functionality.
The key ingredient in ‘thubber’ is a suspension of non-toxic, liquid metal The liquid State allows the metal to deform with the surrounding rubber at room temperature.

Researchers Created Stable Compound of Helium and Sodium

An international team of researchers successfully synthesised a thermodynamically stable compound of sodium and the noble gas helium, Na₂He, which has a fluorite-type structure and is stable¹ at high pressures on February 7, 2017.
Helium is the second, after hydrogen, most abundant dement in the Universe and it is present in significant quantities in normal stars and in gas giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn.
Helium and neon are the most inert elements in the periodic table. This is easy to understand as the ionisation potential of the He atom is the highest of all the elements and its electron affinity is zero.