Diffraction refinement, Polymer Tribology and Spherical Cows
Surface Ventures
Not-for-profit providing world-class surface science webinars for academics and industry professionals
Hello all,
Wishing you all a fantastic Summer. It's summer break time for us at Surface Ventures too with our next event scheduled for the 12th September (more details below). Don't worry Modern Surface continues every two weeks. It was great to see so many of you there at our recent Fretting Wear and Fretting Fatigue Symposium. It's always a little more challenging to organise larger events such as this but all the more fulfilling to see the event go well. Catch you all in the next issue!
Research highlights: Highly Cited
As a tribologist and surface engineer, my studies and work have focused on hard metals and coatings. Polymer tribology is a fascinating area offering impressive performance with the ability to enhance performance with the addition of nano-particles or fibres. "Polymer composites for tribological applications" by K. Friedrich is a wide ranging review covering poler use in mechanical and automotive engineering and special developments such as improving electrical conductivity or self-lubrication and self healing properties.
Science Resources: TED Talk
Energy generation is a growing concern for our growing population and of course, doing so in an environmentally conscious way. The amount of innovation in this area is staggering and in this TED Talk you will hear from physicist Tammy Ma from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory detailing fusion ignition.
Interesting Infographics
As we're now solidly in the humid part of UK summer, we're all wondering how much longer the heat will continue. Inevitably we'll then lament that summer is over as is the British way but there are many places that have more extreme temperatures as shown in the infographic below. Explore more about this infographic from the Visual Capitalist.
From our Partner
Workshop: Applied Diffraction Refinement from Royce at the University of Sheffield
Improve your data through this comprehensive one-day introductory workshop on X-ray powder diffraction techniques and application. This is one of the most common in-house characterisation techniques, and is applicable to metal, ceramic, battery material and pharmaceutical samples.
Written and led by Dr Lewis Owen, University of Sheffield, and supported by the Henry Royce Institute, you will get access to a library of pre-course resources before taking part in an in-person practical workshop with guided walkthroughs and trial examples.
Places are limited, and booking closes on 16 August, so visit our website to find out more and book!
The latest and upcoming from Surface Ventures
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Notable and quotable
“Strive for perfection in everything. Take the best that exists and make it better. If it doesn't exist, create it. Accept nothing nearly right or good enough.” – Sir Henry Royce
What we’re reading
Watchmaking is an incredible showcase of intricate mechanical movements and surface polishing. With the amount of choice available, you're able to select a timepiece that reflects your style and personality. As with many jewellery items, there are a number of materials used; this blog post explores the common materials used in watchmaking.
An app a day
For the majority of us, the Microsoft Office suite is an essential part of our work lives. I've recently discovered a hidden gem for work planning and project management. Microsoft Planner can be used in a variety of ways such as a Kanban board or a simple task tracker. It's simple to collaborate with others and there are even integrations with Outlook and Teams.
The lighter side of Research
Physics can often seem ridiculous with models such as the spherical cow but physicists will not be deterred in their pursuit of imagining the absurd. Andrews Sandberg has taken our blue planet and imagined what would happen if it were replaced with an equal volume of closely packed but uncompressed blueberries.
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Curated By Dr Samuel McMaster
Content Manager – Surface Ventures