General Notes on Glues and Goos

As a practical matter, if you’re engaged in construction with wood, the adhesive you use only needs to be as strong as the lignin that holds the wood fibers together.  Just about all of the commercially available glues exceed the strength of natural resins when properly used. Here is an overview of the most popular … Read more

Biomimetic Carbon Nanotube Fiber Synthesis Technology Developed

The byssus of the mussel allows it to live in harsh conditions where it is constantly battered by crashing waves by allowing the mussel to latch onto the seaside rocks. This particular characteristic of the mussel is due to the unique structure and high adhesiveness of the mussel’s byssus. KAIST’s Professor Hong Soon Hyung (Department … Read more

1Gbps Fiber for $70

“The natural model when you have a simple duopoly capturing the majority of the market is segmentation: maximize ARPU [average revenue per user] by artificially limiting service in order to drive additional monthly spending. But fundamentally this is the wrong model for a service provider like us, and we have looked to Europe for inspiration… … Read more

Formaldehyde Added to List of Carcinogens

Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical widely used to make resins for household items, such as composite wood products, paper product coatings, plastics, synthetic fibers, and textile finishes. In a report prepared for the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), scientists warned that people with higher exposure to formaldehyde … Read more

Case Study — New Home for Apple

Does the growing family have anything to learn from a growing business seeking new accommodations? We think so. This post kicks off the new home case study for Apple Computer. The company wants to build one building that will hold 12,000 Apple employees. “There’s not a single straight piece of glass in this building,” according … Read more

LED Bulbs Hit New Milestones

The technology in traditional “incandescent” bulbs is more than a century old. Such bulbs waste most of the electricity that feeds them, turning it into heat. The 100-watt bulb, in particular, produces so much heat that it’s used in Hasbro’s Easy-Bake Oven. Creating good alternatives to the light bulb has been more difficult than expected, … Read more

The Reciprocal Roof

Shaun Halbert ’s deployments to disasters led him to become concerned about the types of emergency shelters that were being provided. Realizing the importance of ventilation, shade and the capacity for the shelters to be used in transitional as well as emergency phases, he concentrated on these areas in a new design. While attending the … Read more

A Tiny Home that Transforms into 24 Rooms

Architect Gary Chang in Hong Kong, where apartments are small and expensive due to lack of space, has turned his 330-square-foot apartment into 24 ‘rooms’ via a unique sliding wall system. Through the tracks on the ceiling and the wheels at the bottom, a wall can be moved to reveal a linen closet, which in … Read more