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In a paper published in the Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, Bhadeshia introduces the world's first bulk nanostructured metal in commercial production. The nanostructure-controlled high-strength bainitic steel, where the thickness of bainitic ferrite platelets is controlled between 20 and 50 nm is shown in the figures below.

Since continuous miniaturization in microelectronics is already starting to reach the physical limits, researchers are seeking new methods for device fabrication. One promising candidate is the DNA origami technique in which individual strands of the biomolecule self-assemble into arbitrarily shaped nanostructures.

This manuscript reports on the recent progress and the remaining materials challenges in the development of coated conductors (CCs) for power applications and magnets, with a particular emphasis on the different initiatives being active at present in Europe. We first summarize the scientific and technological scope where CCs have been raised as a complex technology product and then we show that there exists still much room for performance improvement. The objectives and CC architectures being explored in the scope of the European project EUROTAPES are widely described and their potential in generating novel breakthroughs emphasized. The overall goal of this project is to create synergy among academic and industrial partners to go well beyond the state of the art in several scientific issues related to CCs' enhanced performances and to develop nanoengineered CCs with reduced costs, using high throughput manufacturing processes which incorporate quality control tools and so lead to higher yields. Three general application targets are considered which will require different conductor architectures and performances and so the strategy is to combine vacuum and chemical solution deposition approaches to achieve the targeted goals. A few examples of such approaches are described related to defining new conductor architectures and shapes, as well as vortex pinning enhancement through novel paths towards nanostructure generation. Particular emphasis is made on solution chemistry approaches. We also describe the efforts being made in transforming the CCs into assembled conductors and cables which achieve appealing mechanical and electromagnetic performances for power systems. Finally, we briefly mention some outstanding superconducting power application projects being active at present, in Europe and worldwide, to exemplify the strong advances in reaching the demands to integrate them in a new electrical engineering paradigm.

The work could have important implications for storing renewable energy in liquid-fuel form.

The action of cooling things down plays a critical part of any mechanical or electric system, because the inevitable heat, produced by friction, is the number one cause of almost instant failure. So far, different methods that cool systems have been discovered, but not to the extent of performance that engineers dream of building their computers or mechanical devices (cars, for example). Oregon State University researchers, led by Terry Hendricks, have discovered a method of applying a nanostructured coating that could make the heat transfer more easily. Their findings have been published in the International Journel of Heat and Mass Transfer, and they also filed a patent for them.

The other possible suggestions made by various researchers are to use these microwires for various applications including use in transistors, environmental monitoring devices and integrated circuits. Researchers were able to produce microwires in the range of 10-20 by heating and intentionally contaminating silicon wafer with copper in the atmosphere of silicon tetrachloride gas. In this way, researchers were also able to control the spacing and are hopeful that the process can easily be scaled up for full commercial production.