All posts tagged: concrete

Want stronger concrete? Just add oysters.

Want stronger concrete? Just add oysters.

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Concrete is everywhere, and that’s a problem. Manufacturing the essential material accounts for around eight percent of annual global carbon dioxide emissions, making it one of the single biggest contributors to the climate crisis. Researchers are investigating all types of creative solutions to the issue, often by replacing ingredients with more eco-friendly alternatives. Recent propositions include adding coffee grounds, bacteria, and even recycled diapers into the mix.But engineers at Purdue University in Indiana think the answer can already be found in the natural world. According to a study recently published in the journal Chemistry of Materials, one solution may be swapping out the cement for shellfish. “Oysters generate a natural cement. They use this material for attaching to each other when building reef structures,” chemist and study co-author Jonathan Wilker explained in a recent university profile. Wilker has spent years examining the biological properties of oyster cement in hopes of recreating the sturdy adhesive for other applications. They have …

The mystery of the car dealer found in concrete under floorboards of Bristol home

The mystery of the car dealer found in concrete under floorboards of Bristol home

Published by Sam Flores

The unsolved murder of Wayne Lomas, who was found in a concrete slab under the floorboards of a living room, is as horrifying as it is puzzling. No-one has been brought to justice for the killing despite it being nearly 40 years since he went missing from his house in South Bristol. Lomas disappeared from his three-bedroom semi-detached house in unusual circumstances on August 30, 1988. Relatives got into his house via an open back window and found the tumble-drier still switched on, his alarm was switched off and his two King Charles Spaniels, Bengy and Roly, in the back garden without food or drink. Lomas, who was a car dealer, had a criminal record going back years and police had linked him to drug dealing, loan sharking and protection rackets. His sudden disappearance led to a police investigation with officers alleging he had been abducted and suspecting he had been murdered by gangland rivals. Following an anonymous call to police five years later, officers swarmed a property in Southville and would find his human …

Video Shows Amazon Delivery Drone Dropping Package Directly Onto Concrete, Smashing Its Delicate Contents

Video Shows Amazon Delivery Drone Dropping Package Directly Onto Concrete, Smashing Its Delicate Contents

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Over the past few months, Amazon has been rapidly deploying its Prime delivery drones to cities across the US, from Arizona to Florida. The drones promise to enable the delivery of small parcels to suburbanites in under two hours, for a modest fee of $4.99. But as more and more videos are starting to show, they might also be delivering a lot of broken glass. In one clip, teacher-turned-influencer Tamara Hancock explores what happens if you order something fragile. In the comments under a previous video about Amazon drone delivery that shows the drones dropping cargo from a surprising height, the “number one question is, what if [I order] something fragile?” Hancock says in her latest. To test it, she bought a container of blue raspberry syrup, to be delivered by drone. She notes that the bottle could be plastic or glass, but since “it does drop from 10 feet in the air,” it could go bust either …

Travellers with bulldozers and concrete trucks force way on to green belt land

Travellers with bulldozers and concrete trucks force way on to green belt land

Published by Sam Flores

Travellers wielding iron bars barged their way onto green belt land and began laying concrete, villagers have claimed. On Thursday, diggers and bulldozers arrived at the field off Friendless Lane, near the village of Flamstead, on the edge of the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire. Caravans are said to have followed in the early hours of Easter Sunday. Villagers said they suspected the group had moved in during the long weekend in the hope that council officials would be slow to react to the unauthorised works at the area of outstanding natural beauty. Dacorum borough council secured an emergency injunction, but was still waiting for a court date. Hertfordshire Constabulary said it was “continuing to monitor the situation” as it investigated allegations of criminal damage, traffic offences and threatening behaviour. The force said it was reviewing footage from officers’ bodycams and would “look to make arrests wherever necessary”. Bulldozers arrived at the site in Hertfordshire on Thursday, followed by cars and caravans on Sunday A parish councillor, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed the travellers had …

An Introduction to Brutalism: The Iconic Postwar Architectural Style That Combined Utopianism and Concrete

An Introduction to Brutalism: The Iconic Postwar Architectural Style That Combined Utopianism and Concrete

Published by José Betancourt

The arti­fi­cial lan­guage of Esperan­to was con­ceived with high ideals in mind. In the eigh­teen-eight­ies, its cre­ator L. L. Zamen­hof envi­sioned it as the uni­ver­sal sec­ond lan­guage of human­i­ty, and if it has­n’t achieved that sta­tus by now, it at least remains the world’s most wide­ly spo­ken con­struct­ed aux­il­iary lan­guage. One fac­tor com­pli­cat­ing its spread is that no lan­guage, even one guid­ed by inter­na­tion­al­ism, can remain the same for long enough in two dif­fer­ent cul­tures. As in spo­ken and writ­ten lan­guages, so in the con­crete one of archi­tec­ture — and in the case of the style known as Bru­tal­ism, that would be lit­er­al con­crete. Meant to make human­i­ty whole again after the Sec­ond World War, its build­ings end­ed up being rather more par­tic­u­lar, and less utopi­an, than their archi­tects intend­ed. Exam­ples aplen­ty appear in the new video above from Built Nar­ra­tive, which offers what amounts to a post­card tour of Bru­tal­ist (and Bru­tal­ism-adja­cent) build­ings from around the world. Named for its main mate­r­i­al bĂ©ton brut, or raw con­crete, the style came into its own dur­ing …

John Wilson Doc ‘The History of Concrete’ Gets Theatrical Release

John Wilson Doc ‘The History of Concrete’ Gets Theatrical Release

Published by Daniella Wilson

The John Wilson-directed documentary The History of Concrete has been acquired by Magnolia Pictures for North America, with a theatrical release planned for later this year. The History of Concrete, the feature debut from the creative behind the popular HBO series How To with John Wilson, premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. The doc follows Wilson, after the finale of his TV show and looking for a new creative outlet, as he attempts to make the definitive documentary about concrete and to tell that story through the structure of a Hallmark movie. Dan Fienberg, in his The Hollywood Reporter review out of Sundance, writes, “John Wilson is the Werner Herzog of the mundane, the lo-fi poet laureate of New York City. He’s half puckish prankster, half earnest documentarian, all inquisitive wanderer. Once you tap into his vibe, carefully written and edited to seem stream-of-consciousness, the viewing experience is like the most laconic roller coaster imaginable.” Wilson produced the doc, along with Clark Filio, Shirel Kozak and Allie Viti. Executive producers are …

MIT Concrete Supercapacitor Explained : Energy Density, Limits & Likely Uses

MIT Concrete Supercapacitor Explained : Energy Density, Limits & Likely Uses

Published by skeptic

MIT researchers have developed a new type of concrete that doubles as an energy storage device, as explained by Ziroth. This material, known as supercapacitor concrete, combines traditional concrete with carbon nanostructures and liquid electrolytes, allowing it to store and discharge energy while maintaining its structural integrity. Unlike batteries, which rely on chemical reactions, this concrete stores energy electrostatically, offering a unique way to integrate energy storage directly into buildings and infrastructure. While it achieves energy densities ten times higher than standard capacitors, challenges like scalability and durability remain key hurdles to its broader adoption. In this guide, you’ll learn how the material’s carbon nanostructures enhance conductivity, the role of organic electrolytes in boosting energy density, and the practical applications it could support, such as stabilizing wind turbine output. You’ll also explore the trade-offs, including its current limitations compared to lithium-ion batteries, and the steps needed to make it viable for large-scale use. By understanding these details, you can better appreciate how this technology could reshape energy management in construction and renewable energy sectors. Concrete …

‘It’s the underground Met Gala of concrete murderzone design’: welcome to the Quake Brutalist Game Jam | Games

‘It’s the underground Met Gala of concrete murderzone design’: welcome to the Quake Brutalist Game Jam | Games

Published by Sam Flores

A lone concrete spire stands in a shallow bowl of rock, sheltering a rusted trapdoor from the elements. Standing on the trapdoor causes it to yawn open like iron jaws, dropping you through a vertical shaft into a subterranean museum. Here, dozens of doors line the walls of three vaulted grey galleries, each leading to a pocket dimension of dizzying virtual architecture and fierce gladiatorial combat. Welcome to Quake Brutalist Jam, the hottest community event for lovers of id Software’s classic first-person shooter from 1996. First run in 2022, the Jam started out as a celebration of old-school 3D level design, where veteran game developers, aspiring level designers and enthusiast modders gather to construct new maps and missions themed around the austere minimalism of brutalist architecture. This third iteration of the Jam goes much further. In an intense six-week session, contributors designed 77 brutalist-themed maps where players fight new enemies with new weapons. For context, the original Quake, built by legendary game designers such as John Carmack, John Romero, Tim Willits and American McGee, featured …