Lubrication for electric vehicles, graphical abstracts and phase engineering
Surface Ventures
Not-for-profit providing world-class surface science webinars for academics and industry professionals
In partnership with the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
Hello all,
Hope you've had a great 2 weeks. Seasons greetings to you all. It's odd thinking back on the past year as it feels like it has passed so quickly but so much has happened. Plenty to reflect upon and help form my New Year's resolution. Thanks to all our partners for this year and to you all for attending our events. Our next edition of Modern Surface will be on the 5th of January, we look forward to seeing you at our events in 2024.
Research highlights: Highly cited review
In surface engineering, we often discuss the effect of coatings or thermochemical surface treatments due to their popularity in optimising for tribological performance. This is not the only modification method available as phase is transformed in diffusionless transformations as in the formation of martensite from austenite. For nanomaterials, phase plays an extremely important role alongside composition, morphology architecture and dimensionality. "Phase engineering of nanomaterials" by Chen et al. is an excellent review of the possibilities and applications of phase engineering.
Science Resources: Educational Video
xkcd and its spin-off what if? are a firm favourite for their celebration of science and maths, and absurd and bizarre questions. what if? is now on YouTube and explores what would happen if we aimed the Hubble Telescope at Earth.
Interesting Infographics
We occupy a busy solar system, the magnitude of which is difficult to fully comprehend until it's fully mapped out. The infographic below shows the orbits of more than 18,000 asteroids and other objects in the solar system. You can read more about this infographic here.
From our Partner
Lecture: Lubrication demands for Electric Vehicles
Date: 26th Feb 2024 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Novotel London West, London, United Kingdom
Speaker: Rich Baker, Director of Tribotonic
The global growth in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) is accelerating.? One of the constants between an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and the different types of EVs and HEVs on sale is the requirement for a similar quantity of grease in the vehicle, however, the demands of the grease very significantly between the different types of vehicles.? This presentation will highlight the main differences required from the grease, what has happened to oil lubrication and how tribology testing can help optimize the lubricants placed into vehicles both now and in the future.
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Notable and quotable
“The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.”?– Edward Teller
What we’re reading
The naming of many phenomena and objects in science can be quite odd. Astrophysics is a prime example of this with very descriptive telescope names like the Extremely Large Telescope (more details on the engineering of its mirrors can be found here). This extends to the naming of aurora-like events from citizen scientists. Read about how a rare light spectacle has been dubbed "Steve" in this CNN article. You can find out more about citizen science from NASA here and from the EU here.
An app a day
Computers have changed a great deal in the relatively short time they've existed. In many ways, they are easier to use and are much more visually appealing. The industrial design and user interaction with old computer systems is nostalgic for many and fun to look back on. Emulators and virtual machines for older software are available for this purpose and you can even experience the Macintosh of 1984 in browser here.
The lighter side of research
It's quite common to see journals asking authors to produce a graphical abstract to attract attention to their articles. I suspect not all authors take this seriously as you can see in this collection of odd and funny figures.
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Curated By Dr Samuel McMaster
Event Manager – Surface Ventures