Another application of material science in industry is the making of composite materials. Composite materials are structured materials composed of two or more macroscopic phases. Applications range from structural elements such as steel-reinforced concrete, to the thermally insulative tiles which play a key and integral role in National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Shuttle thermal protection system which is used to protect the surface of the shuttle from the heat of re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. One example is Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC), The light gray material which withstands re-entry temperatures up to 1510 °C (2750 °F) and protects the Space Shuttle's wing leading edges and nose cap. RCC is a laminated composite material made from graphite rayon cloth and impregnated with a phenolic resin. After curing at high temperature in an autoclave, the laminate is pyrolized to convert the resin to carbon, impregnated with furfural alcohol in a vacuum chamber, and cured/pyrolized to convert the furfural alcohol to carbon. In order to provide oxidation resistance for reuse capability, the outer layers of the RCC are converted to silicon carbide.
Other examples can be seen in the "plastic" casings of television sets, cell-phones and similar objects. These plastic casings are usually a composite material. It is a thermoplastic matrix such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) in which calcium carbonate chalk, talc, glass fibers or carbon fibers have been added for added strength, bulk, or electro-static dispersion. These additions may be referred to as reinforcing fibers, or dispersants, depending on their purpose.
A new magnetic material has been discovered. It could transform computer hard drives and energy storage devices.
A highly sensitive metal bilayer needs only a small shift in temperature to dramatically alter its magnetism. This is a very useful property in electronic engineering. "No other material known to man can do this. It's a huge effect. And we can engineer it", said Ivan Schuller, of the University of California, San Diego.
The material combines thin layers of nickel and vanadium oxide. This is a structure which is surprisingly responsive to heat. "We can control the magnetism in just a narrow range of temperature without applying a magnetic field. And in principle we could also control it with voltage or current", said Prof Schuller.
Materials science encompasses various classes of materials, each of which may constitute a separate field. Materials are sometimes classified by the type of bonding present between the atoms:
Catwalk
A catwalk is a raised walkway. The term is most often used for fashion shows, where models walk along showing off the clothes. A catwalk on a ship is a passageway above decks. A similar term is runway, but it need not be off the ground.
"Catwalk", a documentary on life on the fashion runways, was filmed in 1993 by director Robert Leacock. The movie followed models Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Le Bon, Kate Moss, and Carla Bruni as they jetted around London, Milan, Paris, and New York during Spring Fashion Week, including behind-the-scenes footage. The movie was shot in black and white and colour, and featured many top designers at work, like a young John Galliano, Justin Thomas, Karl Lagerfeld, and Gianni Versace four years before his death.
About a Girl (song)
"About a Girl" by the grunge band Nirvana is the third song on Nirvana's first album "Bleach". It was one of Kurt Cobain's less heavy songs of the ones he wrote for the band. Compared to "Blew" and "Downer" it is considered quite mild.
The Rescuers
The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated comedy-drama adventure movie. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was first released to movie theaters on June 22, 1977, by Buena Vista Distribution. It is the 23rd Disney animated movie. The movie is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization in New York City and shadowing the United Nations. They are dedicated to helping abduction victims around the world at large. Two of these mice, shy janitor Bernard (Bob Newhart) and his co-agent, the elegant Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor), set out to rescue Penny (Michelle Stacy), an orphan girl who is being held prisoner in Devil's Bayou by treasure huntress Madame Medusa (Geraldine Page).
The movie is based on a series of books by Margery Sharp, mainly "The Rescuers" and "Miss Bianca". The movie was very successful. Later Disney released a sequel called "The Rescuers Down Under" in 1990. This made this movie the first Disney animated movie to have a sequel.
Logan Medal of the Arts
The Logan Medal of the Arts was an arts prize started in 1907. Art Institute of Chicago helped to award the prize. From 1917 through 1940, 270 awards were given.
The Medal was named for arts patron Frank Granger Logan. Logan founded the brokerage house of Logan & Bryan. He served over 50 years on the board of the Institute. He and his wife, Josephine Hancock Logan, administered the award consistent with their support of the Society for Sanity in Art. They founded that Society in 1936. Josephine Logan also wrote a book in 1937 called "Sanity in Art". The Logans strongly opposed all forms of modern art, including cubism, surrealism, and abstract expressionism.
Thames Barrier
The Thames Barrier is the world's second-largest movable flood barrier, after the Oosterscheldekering in the Netherlands. It is downstream of central London. Its purpose is to prevent London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It is raised (closed) only during high tide; at ebb tide it is lowered to release the water which backs up behind it.
The barrier's northern bank is in the London Borough of Newham and its southern bank is in the London Borough of Greenwich. The report of Hermann Bondi into the North Sea flood of 1953 affecting parts of the Thames Estuary and parts of London was what led to the building of the barrier.
London is vulnerable to flooding. A storm surge generated by low pressure in the Atlantic Ocean sometimes tracks eastwards past the north of Scotland and may then be driven into the shallow waters of the North Sea. The surge tide is funnelled down the North Sea which narrows towards the English Channel and the Thames Estuary. If the storm surge coincides with a spring tide, dangerously high water levels can occur in the Thames Estuary. This situation combined with downstream flows in the Thames tells engineers when to operate the barriers.
The threat has increased over time due to the slow but continuous rise in high water level over the centuries (20 cm (8 inches) / 100 years) and the slow "tilting" of Britain (up in the north and west, and down in the south and east) caused by post-glacial rebound.
Fourteen people died in the 1928 Thames flood, and after 307 people died in the UK in the North Sea Flood of 1953 the issue gained new prominence.
Early proposals for a flood control system were stymied by the need for a large opening in the barrier to allow for vessels from London Docks to pass through. When containerization replaced older forms of shipping and a new port was opened at Tilbury, a smaller barrier became feasible with each of the four main navigation spans being the same width as the opening of Tower Bridge.
A Thames Barrier flood defence closure is triggered when high tides are forecast in the North Sea "and" river flows are high at the tidal limit at Teddington weir. If water levels might exceed in central London, that is the trigger.