EmpaNews – Magazine for Research and Innovation: Recent Episodes
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What are the hot topics in research? What is Empa’s role in all this? Our research magazine EmpaNews provides answers to these questions with interviews, portraits and exciting reports from the lab.
Some say that back pain is the price we pay for walking upright. Others claim that the problem only really started when humankind sat down to reflect and contemplate. Thanks to a collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh and Balgrist University Hospital, Empa is beginning to decode the mechanics of the lower vertebrae. Researchers soon will be able to reveal how wear and tear comes about on vertebral bodies and spinal disks. This will make choosing the appropriate therapy much easier.
Using adhesive tape and graphite as it is found in pencil lead, two physicists proved that graphene, the “miracle material of the future”, actually exists – and won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work only a few years later. Scientists are also researching the properties of graphene at Empa. For instance, they are investigating how molecules can be used to produce well-defined graphene nanostructures that could one day serve as electronic components.
CFCs are still harming the ozone layer; industrial gases with a high greenhouse potential heat up the atmosphere. The polluters don't go undiscovered, though. Empa scientists are tracking the trace gases with highly sensitive instruments and identify the sources of pollution with the help of meteorological data.
Empa is in the midst of establishing the Future Mobility Demonstrator on ist Dübendorf campus. This ambitious Projekt should reveal how excess electricity, generated by solar and wind-power, can be converted to fuel in the most sensible way. After all, this could slash Switzerland's carbon dioxide emissions by over 4 million tons – which would match perfectly the Swiss contribution to the Kyoto protocol. Empa will evaluate methods to fuel electric vehicles, hydrogen powered vehicles as well as natural gas cars.
For some time, Empa has settled between university and the market and, together with its industrial partners, endeavored to get new technologies “on the road” – highly successfully, too, as the examples in the current issue of EmpaNews on the topic of technology transfer demonstrate. And also in this issue: Programmable materials: Phononic crystals – a revolution in mechanical engineering? --- Air cushions can save lives: Insulating gear for extreme conditions. --- Diamonds are poor kissers: A failed experiment as cover story.
Around half of the energy demand in Switzerland is generated by buildings and every year ten tons of construction materials per capita are being used up. If we want to import fewer fossil fuels and reduce raw material consumption, we simply have to develop and test novel buildings in practice. The Empa research platform NEST has been conceived to do just this.
And also in this issue: Hightech for soft skin: Swiss entepreneur manufactures Lingerie made of pure gold. --- Hangover for the "cat": Bioethanol in gasoline damages catalytic converters. --- Interim storage for green electricity: Excess power is converted into climate-neutral natural gas.
Empa physicist René Rossi conducts research into the clothing of the future. What is it supposed to do? What is feasible? And how can 1.8 square meters of human skin be used to transfer data? One of the projects aiming in this direction is the "Weight-watcher-T-shirt": a tailor-made vest, which helps overweight people to watch their waistlines.
And also in this issue: The death knell for joints: compliant mechanisms – lighter, cheaper and more hygienic. --- "Lifejackets" for deep-sea drills: special ceramics help to tap into new crude oil and gas sources.
50 years ago the Empa campus was literally carved out of a green field in Dübendorf on the outskirts of Zurich. The exterior of the buildings has hardly changed. However, inside the walls it is a completely different story. A metamorphosis has taken place...
And also in this issue: Shaken, not stirred: Vibration tests on a wooden house provide data for architects. --- Dioxin from the particle filter: Diesel engines sometimes generate Seveso toxin. Why? --- Blood pressure measurement ‘round the clock: A wrist sensor makes blood pressure monitoring easy.
Many chemical reactions and chemical processes take place on surfaces or within boundary layers. In order to understand this, the layers must be analyzed in as much detail as possible. We show, how Empa examines microstructures down to the atomic level, using self-designed "super-microscopes" – and how these scientific results lead to the construction of new surfaces. Besides fundamental research Empa regularily tackles practical problems: How come, that an electrical threewheeler used for postal delivery suffers spontaneous self-combustion during the night? Empa scientists analyzed the problem and found a solution.
And also in this issue: Shower now, ventilate later: a new moisture buffering plaster by Empa. --- Mercury in energy-saving lamps – a sword of damocles?
Industrialized countries face two problems: noise and airborne pollution. Empa researchers use facilities such as comprehensive 3D computer models and simulations to detect noise sources. The resulting noise maps then reveal where it is loudest in Switzerland i.e. where the situation is most critical. Besides noise, our quality of life is also being affected by greenhouse gases and airborne pollutants. Empa researchers are examining their spread in the atmosphere with analytical instruments and computer models.
And also in this issue: Acid from the A/C: Car cooling agent is harming the environment. --- An interview with nanocrystal expert and ERC award winner Maksym Kovalenko.
Solar modules made from silicon are too rigid for many applications – and they are often too expen-sive. Solar cells on flexible film are the solution, and are capable of generating power from sunlight much more cheaply. Empa is researching into the construction of such cells, and a start-up company is already trialling series production next door. Two types of cells are examinated: Inorganic solar cells – so called CIGS cells – on the one hand, which should be ready for market in a few years. On the other hand Empa does research on organic solar cells on the basis of dyes. With this technology, transparent solar cells become possible.
And also in this issue: Driving CLEVER with natural gas and electricity --- “Empa never stands still”: Interview with Brigitte Buchmann, the new head of department. --- Brought to the boil and freshened up: A new type of asphalt heals cracks by itself.
In the current “Focus” we will introduce you to several examples from our laboratories – just in time for the inaugural “World Medtech Forum” in Lucerne in late September, for which Empa is acting as “Innovation Partner”. To name but one example, the institute will be exhibiting new microstructured implant surfaces, which ensure that cells “feel at home” on the implant, grow better and thus hold on tight to it.
And also in this issue: Precision on the way to Mercury: Specially soldered parts from the Empa labs fly into space. --- The taming of the vibration: How an Empa engineer is calming bridge decks and cables. --- A “green” factory that is earning money: How manufacturing can be made more ecological.
For 75 years Empa has been conducting wood research. Despite (or perhaps expressly because of) this long history, wood is a material with a bright future. It is not just a construction material made from renewable sources – its microstructure also conceals many usable characteristics and scope for further processing. The current "Focus" paints a portrait of the diverse research activities of Empa concerning the topic of wood.
And also in this issue: The garden hose fibre: Lightweight summer jacket and bullet-proof vest in one – is that possible? --- Operation Cleanup: How laser technology helps to clean diesel exhaust.
Experiments with buildings? NEST makes it possible! The planned building lab on the Empa campus should serve, quite literally, as a platform for new ideas in construction and sustainable, energy-efficient solutions. Research modules for future residential and office rooms are installed on each open floor. Building services are supplied centrally from the inner core. Moreover, the current focus presents innovative ideas and findings: Smart glass, which becomes dark, translucent or UV-reflective at the push of a button, offers considerable advantages in building tech-nologies. With the help of a database and thermodynamics software, the properties of concrete can be calculated in advance and optimized accordingly. Empa researchers are investigating replicas of walls from older buildings in the lab to test and improve innovative interior insulating materials and renovation techniques. Not only homeowners will benefit from optimally insulated buildings – but Switzerland’s carbon footprint, too.
And also in this issue: Instruments from the fungus laboratory: Bio-tuning gives new violins the sound of a true Stradivarius. --- “Steam blasting” with real gold: Shiny threads for haute couture through plasma coating.
Sustainable use of energy and raw materials is a central research topic at Empa. The variety of topics streches from rural biofuel-projects in Africa to the ambitious vision of producing liquid fuel out of carbon-dioxide – which today is seen as a "worthless" climate-changing gas. In this issue you will find an insight view on this scientific work - focused on resources. It is not only about sustainable use of energy-sources, but also about rare materials, about proper recycling of electronic waste, about what kind of propulsion we will use in our cars in 20 years.
And also in this issue: Commitment for Africa: What we can do better when growing Jatropha. --- Adding the spark to hydrogen: A new project in the engine lab. --- The flying pixels: How to apply polymer explosives with virtuosity.
Every material – just like every substance – is made up of chemical elements. It’s no wonder, then, that a large number of chemists are hard at work at Empa. They are looking into new materials which are expected to be more effective, less expensive and environmentally friendlier than those being used today. For this, they are synthesising countless as yet unknown materials and studying their properties. A further important area for chemistry is analytics. Researchers can, for example, follow how long-lasting pollutants, some of which have been banned for decades, can accumulate in various ecosystems. On the occasion of the “International Year of Chemistry”, EmpaNews takes a peek into laboratories.
And also in this issue: Plastic fabric for solar cells & co. Transparent electrodes: flexible yet robust. --- Enzymes for industrial applications. --- Locating sources: Tracking traces of persistent toxins.
Nanotechnology – or, to be precise, nanotechnologies – have good cause to celebrate. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the scanning tunnelling microscope. This instrument and others like it enable us to peer into the world of atoms and molecules and thus make it accessible to us. Meanwhile, thanks to nanoeffects, numerous materials and products have been developed – and even brought to market – with new, very promising properties.
And also in this issue: Artificial turf with upstanding qualities. --- Adapted to industry: Plasma technology for the textile industry. --- Debugging – successfully completed: “Detectives” investigate faulty electronics.
To fabricate ever smaller electronic components, new materials are in great demand – for example, ultra-thin layers of carbon known as graphene. As part of an international collaboration, Empa re-searchers are developing new methods to “grow” these layers in a tailored way on surfaces. The current issue of EmpaNews covers this topic as well as, of course, much more. And since it is our goal to provide intelligent reading material, for once we’ve taken that task literally – and thus the current Focus section on “smart” materials. They’re also the topic of the National Research Programme NRP 62, which started early 2010 and in which Empa is quite successfully represented.
And also in this issue: Fire in the building! A visit to the Fire Technology Laboratory. --- “You don’t win a prize everyday”: A young entrepreneur enters the market.
The Solar Impulse team is pursuing a lofty goal – to put renewable energy in the spotlight and thus get the general public to rethink their ideas so that we preserve some of our natural resources for future generations. That’s why Piccard and his team fit perfectly into the Focus section of this latest edition of EmpaNews. This section is dedicated to Cleantech, in other words the clean technologies of tomorrow which will have the least possible impact on the environment and will help to preserve natural resources. Because one thing is certain – we can’t continue to do “business as usual”.
And also in this issue: Virtual instead of visual: Monitoring system for Europe’s roadways. --- It's all about the method: Standartised evaluation of nano-risks.