Podcast: Nanostructured Shields, Balloon Venusquake Detection, 20 Percent Brighter OLED

In this episode, we talk about a joint effort between MIT, CalTech, and ETH Zurich to create a lightweight nanostructured material capable of providing better impact resistance than kevlar on a per mass basis, NASA JPL and CalTech students proving that weather balloons capable of reading seismic activity could help us better understand the mysteries of Venus, and how University of Michigan researchers are liberating the trapped light in OLED devices.  As always, you can find these and other interesting & impactful engineering articles on Wevolver.com. 

EPISODE NOTES

Take a few seconds to leave us a review. It really helps! https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2 if you do it and send us proof, we’ll give you a shoutout on the show.

(0:49) - Nanostructured Shields: 

MIT, CalTech, and ETH Zurich researchers have developed a new lightweight material capable of providing more stopping power than kevlar on a per mass basis. Furthermore, they were able to use the Buckingham-pi theorem - an analytical method used to measure how much material a meteor can excavate from a planet - to create a framework for assessing the impact absorption effectiveness of new nanostructured materials. 

(10:55) - Balloon Detection of Venus Earthquakes: 

Much of what we know about the inner workings of planet earth comes from our analysis of seismic activity but it's not that easy to do the same on other planets with inhospitable surface conditions like Venus. So how can we work around this problem? According to NASA JPL and some students from CalTech, balloons are the answer! The team was able to prove that weather balloons with barometers (instruments that gauge pressure differences) could detect earthquakes miles away. 

(16:00) - Increasing OLED Efficiency: 

OLED screens are becoming the standard for phones, TVs, and monitors; however, about 80% of the light produced by these screens actually ends up trapped inside the devices leading to drastic decreases in overall efficiency. Researchers from University of Michigan have found a way to liberate ~20% of the trapped light by making some modifications to the electrodes on either side of the light emitters and using an index-matching fluid to prevent light getting trapped by the outer glass layer.

--

About the podcast:

Every day, some of the most innovative universities, companies, and individual technology developers share their knowledge on Wevolver. To ensure we can also provide this knowledge for the growing group of podcast listeners, we started a collaboration with two young engineers, Daniel Scott Mitchell & Farbod Moghaddam who discuss the most interesting content in this podcast series. 

To learn more about this show, please visit the shows page. By following the page, you will get automatic updates by email when a new show is published.

Be sure to give us a follow and review on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and most of your favorite podcast platforms!