Researchers turn cement into metal

Close-up visualizations of (A) the HOMO and (B) LUMO single-particle electron states in the 64CaO glass. Both states are spin-degenerate, and h1 labels the cavity (cage) occupied by LUMO. Yellow and magenta stand for different signs of the wave-function nodes. (C) Simulation box and the electron spin-density of the 64CaO glass with one oxygen subtracted at h2—that is, with two additional electrons. The two electrons have the same spin and they occupy separate cavities, h1 (boundary, also shown in B) and h2 (center, location of removed oxygen), which are separated by 12 Å from each other. (D) Cage structure around the spin-density of one electron cor- responding to the h2 cavity (close-up from C). Al, gray; Ca, green; O, red. Credit: ANL

I'll readily admit that the science behind this article, summarizing an article from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is at the edge of my understanding of materials.

Apparently the scientists turned liquid cement into a semi-conductor analogous to liquid metal and eventually to a metallic-glass material, something that could lead to "positive attributes including better resistance to corrosion than traditional metal, less brittleness than traditional glass, conductivity, low energy loss in magnetic fields, and fluidity for ease of processing and molding."

The process seems to so obvious that I'm disappointed I didn't think of it myself:

The team of scientists studied mayenite, a component of alumina cement made of calcium and aluminum oxides. They melted it at temperatures of 2,000 degrees Celsius using an aerodynamic levitator with carbon dioxide laser beam heating. The material was processed in different atmospheres to control the way that oxygen bonds in the resulting glass. The levitator keeps the hot liquid from touching any container surfaces and forming crystals. This let the liquid cool into glassy state that can trap electrons in the way needed for electronic conduction

Seriously, though, can anybody explain this to me?

I can say that I know what the HOMO and LUMO shown in the diagram are. Those I remember from college chem.

Ice Axes - How it's Made

I was almost a little disappointed that there wasn't a corny joke at the beginning of this video, and then I found out that ice axes are "really designed for peak performance."

I really wonder if as much of this manufacturing process is down by hand as is being shown here.

How It's Made Swords

"...and they go to the hilt to make sure the details are just right."

Seriously?

Ok, if all they're doing is making replica swords, I can see that just cutting it out of a block of metal would be faster, but it can't have nearly the same strength and flexibility that a real sword would.

I'm thinking most of this sword making procedure isn't quite historically accurate, but I will admit that most of my knowledge of sword making comes from Highlander.

Science camp: Living in a materials world

This video is of the Howard University ASM teachers materials camp in the summer of 2012.

The video was filmed and published by Stars & Stripes, a YouTube channel that (in their words) "exists to provide independent news and information to the U.S. military community, comprising active-duty, DoD civilians, contractors, and their families."

It's a fairly standard format: ASM official (Charles Hayes) speaks, labs are shown being done, teacher attendee describes a lab. The only thing missing was a teacher attendee giving a testimonial about the camp.

I particularly loved seeing the borax glass drop (at 0:48) pick up more borax that starts to degas and puff up.

Water and Solutions -- for Dirty Laundry: Crash Course Chemistry #7

Thank you, John Green.

This thirteen-and-a-half-minute-long video covers enough chemistry about water that if my students understood the entire video by the end of my year of chemistry, I would be pretty happy.

Because it's that saturated with knowledge, I don't know that I'd necessarily show it in one sitting in the classroom. It's dense, man, but it does a spectacular job explaining (and showing via animation) a whole lot of ideas about the chemistry of water. I'll list some of them...

• oxidizing (like bleach and hydrogen peroxide do)
• solutions (aqueous ones)
• solute
• solvent
• polar molecules
• polar and nonpolar molecules dissolving each other
• water dissolving ionic compounds
• electrolytes
• strong, weak, and non-
• moles
• concentration
• molarity
• molality 
• diluting

Magic Molecule by Christopher Chapman & Hugh O'Connor,

Man, the '60's, huh?

Throw in the fact that these filmmakers are Canadian, and you have an absolutely perfect recipe for weirdness.

This video - available online thanks to the National Film Board of Canada - certainly is weird and dated, but it makes for a pretty impressive overview of what the dreams of a plastic world used to be.

Nowadays the world of plastics tends to be viewed with a far more environmentally-suspicious lens than the one through which our intrepid polymerist gazes at 2:00, but in the 1960's, everything was coming up plastics.

I do believe that at 5:40, we have a composite.

And I just love the opening poem...

It's a fine phenolic, acrylic day.

The cellusoics are in good fettle, and there's a hint of melamine in the air.

Yes, everything is perfectly synthetic, for this is the bright, new world of plastic products.

...and the cool shorts outfit at 1:28...

...and the beautiful world of 7:04...

...and the Legos from 7:20 through 7:40...

...and the boat of 7:50...

Hey, what happened to the old dude at 7:50? Where'd he go?

PS: Thanks to Kristin for the find here. As always, if you find a great materials science video, feel free to send it my way.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Manifesto Commercial

First off, the song is "God's Gonna Cut You Down" as performed by Johnny Cash. The video starring just about everybody but Cash is over here if you want to hear the whole song.

I knew you wanted to know.

The video - one-minute long - is officially an advertisement for a Jeep, but it uses patriotism and transfer about the great manufacturing history of America to make you think that if we made great things here once, the Jeep must be one of those things.

Which it might be, but that's not our point.

For me, the video is a nice, emotional call-out to return to manufacturing greatness, something that materials science just might help us do.