Machine learning & AI
Inspired by the functioning of the human brain and based on a biological mechanism called neuromodulation, it allows intelligent agents to adapt to unknown situations
Jan 28, 2020
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Robotics
Idea hatchers at the Moonshot Factory, Alphabet X, have been busy on an Everyday Robot project and its goal is quite simple. They are keen on "building a robot that can learn to operate in many different situations."
Energy & Green Tech
Laura Parker in National Geographic last year: Scientists have tried to get a handle on the amount of plastic that ends up in the seas and harm to birds, marine animals, and fish. .Billions of tons of plastic have been made ...
Energy & Green Tech
Officials with the Dutch city of Zwolle have announced the opening of a new bike path made using recycled plastic. The bike path is part of a nationwide effort to recycle more user end products. The bike path was made using ...
Engineering
(Tech Xplore)—MIT Rocket Team on April 21 successfully fired a rocket motor printed from plastic. They had project support from Markforged for their 3-D printed rocket motor. They put out a video to show it in action.
Energy & Green Tech
(Tech Xplore)—A team of researchers with Miniwiz has developed a mobile recycling plant called the Trashpresso that can be hauled between locations. In addition to its mobility, it's also solar powered, making it useful ...
Energy & Green Tech
(Tech Xplore)—Plastic container discards floating in oceans are an ugly sight and troubling environmental issue; scientists are exploring better ways to assure a cleaner future. That includes exploring materials that are ...
Consumer & Gadgets
A smartphone 3D printer? That idea may take some getting used to. Could it be possible that everyone can start printing 3D objects directly from their phone? OLO 3D in San Francisco has developed the idea to the max.
Energy & Green Tech
Back in May, Steven Shankland in CNET said that, for the lighting business, "the next technology is coming: OLED (organic light-emitting diode) lighting. It replaces the small, bright dots of LEDs with sheets of light that ...
Energy & Green Tech
Single-use health care items—everything from gloves and blood bags to surgical equipment—have become a growing environmental problem worldwide. Their use has increased sharply in recent years, and there are currently ...
Aug 7, 2024
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Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular weight, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce costs.
The word derives from the Greek πλαστικός (plastikos) meaning fit for molding, and πλαστός (plastos) meaning molded. It refers to their malleability, or plasticity during manufacture, that allows them to be cast, pressed, or extruded into an enormous variety of shapes—such as films, fibers, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much more.
The common word plastic should not be confused with the technical adjective plastic, which is applied to any material which undergoes a permanent change of shape (plastic deformation) when strained beyond a certain point. Aluminum, for instance, is plastic in this sense, but not a plastic in the common sense; while some plastics, in their finished forms, will break before deforming and therefore are not plastic in the technical sense.
There are two types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosets. Thermoplastics, if exposed to enough heat, will melt. Thermosets will keep their shape until they are charred and burnt. Some examples of thermoplastics are grocery bags, piano keys and some automobile parts. Examples of thermosets are children's dinner sets and circuit boards.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
