Swagelok Northern California Blog

The quest for ultra-miniaturization in nanoelectronics has led researchers to explore the intersection of physical and chemical properties at the molecular scale. New research on the electrical conductance of single molecules has made the leap from theoretical calculations to experimental results; scientists have altered conductance by manipulating quantum interference.

Scientists have been searching for the “holy grail” of superconductors—materials that behave as superconductors at room temperature, known as “high-temperature superconductors”—because of the possibility for a wide range of revolutionary applications. But the search has been hampered by a poor understanding of many of the quantum effects related to superconductivity—until now.

Researchers in the US have created a self-healing rubber that can repair a tear even at room temperature, allowing for much better durability and longevity of everyday objects like shoes and tires. Beginning with a 3D-printing method known as photopolymerisation, in which light solidifies a liquid resin into a desired shape, the scientists also altered its atomic structure to give the resin the ability to heal itself.

Lightfoot Defence, supplier of refrigeration equipment and support to the UK’s Ministry of Defense, teamed up with Swagelok to solve a costly issue for the Eurofighter. Working on a replacement for the one-use refrigerant that cools the fighter’s defensive system, Lightfoot developed an innovative system using primarily Swagelok fluid system components.

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A new coating for metal can self-heal within seconds when cracked, scraped, or scratched—and can do so in the same spot close to 200 times. It sticks well, even under water, in corrosive fluids, and in turbulent conditions. Researchers envision it being painted onto bridges, the undersides of boats, and on airplane fuselages to prevent localized corrosion from becoming catastrophic.

Antireflection (AR) coatings on plastics are widely used to reduce glare on eyeglasses, computer monitors, smartphone displays. A new AR coating is such an improvement over the existing coatings that it renders transparent plastics virtually invisible.

Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) may finally have found the path to nuclear fusion as a feasible energy source. They have developed a process that uses radio frequencies to prevent instabilities in plasma.

There are numerous common system design errors that can render a back-pressure regulator useless, simply because the device is misunderstood. System designers may overlook the importance of an upstream flow restrictive device. They may allow too much flow through the analyzer or even place a pressure-reducing regulator in series with a back-pressure regulator with no flow resistance between the two devices. Here’s how to avoid those problems.

As baby boomers retire, they take decades of knowledge and experience

Irish researcher examines how AI trends and emerging data can help businesses. Her central focus is the powerful combination of AI with human creativity.

AI has made enormous strides in recent decades such that most resource and implementation difficulties are a thing of the past. Companies and individuals have a greater trust of AI-assisted work processes than ever before. In chemical engineering, we are in a deep-learning and data-science era of AI research. AI methods present a new knowledge-modeling paradigm that will take engineers far beyond applied math and operations research.

Researchers at RMIT university have developed a new type of transistor that sends electrons through the air rather than silicon. This new “air-channel transistor technology” has no need for superconductors, which means it does not heat up like ordinary transistors, and it works more quickly.

In a process analyzer sampling system, there is always a delay between the moment you grab the sample and the time you obtain a reading. Time delay is cumulative, accounting for the total amount of time it takes for a sample to travel from the tap in the process line to the process analyzer, where results are obtained. This time delay may be longer than you think and underestimating it can lead to inferior process control.

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One of the theories that would prove the existence of “dark energy” or “dark matter” can now be ruled out. The “symmetron field,” theorized to pervade space, cannot be detected even with a new method devised to measure extremely weak forces.

University of Illinois at Chicago scientists are developing a nuclear-powered “tunnelbot” designed to penetrate the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The probe would have to make its way through 2 to 30 km of ice, then turn on its instruments and send data on the planet and any signs of life back to earth.

Iridium, the world’s rarest naturally occurring element, is what provides the color and light for OLED screens in your phone or TV—but it won’t last forever. It exists in a finite quantity on our planet. But scientists have finally found a way to get copper—present in abundance in the earth’s crust—to reach iridium-like efficiency in its emission of light.

You want your analytical instrumentation (AI) system to provide a timely analytical result that is representative of the fluid in the process line at the time the sample was taken. If the configuration of the AI system causes an alteration of results, the sample is no longer representative, and it’s no longer useful. Maintaining a representative sample can be challenging. The only way to uncover the problem is to be familiar with the points at which the sample system can falter.

Follow these best practices for designing and building safer fluid systems

A new type of material, based on ethylene (used to make most plastics), exhibits both shape memory and self-healing. Unlike other self-healing materials, it requires no external stimulus, so it can heal even while submerged in water or acidic and alkali solutions.

New research on enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) aims to make it efficient and cost-effective to harness the planet’s natural heat as a green energy source. Rather than exploit existing natural points of access to hot water deep underground, EGS would create new fractures, generate electricity and heat from the naturally hot water, and reinject it into the ground.