Reade Specialty Chemicals E-zine RSS feed http://www.reade.com/ezine The READE Specialty Chemicals e-Zine RSS feed presents approximately eight or so abstracts of recent public news articles that review leading edge specialty chemical products that have been or should be commercialized. en-us Copyright 2004 READE Advanced Materials New Composite Materials for High-Temperature Ceramics http://www.reade.com/ezine/vol2issue2/reade0202_en_1.shtml The cornerstone of ultrahigh-temperature ceramics is a small group of diboride and carbide ceramic-matrix composites including ZrB2/SiC, HfB2/SiC and ZrB2/SiC/C. They have a unique set of material properties including unusually high thermal conductivity, good thermal shock resistance, and modest thermal expansion coefficients that make them particularly well suited for sharp-body applications in hypersonic flows. Magnetic Particulate Materials for Adhesives http://www.reade.com/ezine/vol2issue2/reade0202_en_2.shtml Magnetic composite materials typically consist of a matrix and a dispersed, fibrous or continuous second phase. The second phase may reinforce (strengthen or stiffen), alter electrical or magnetic properties or enhance wear or erosion resistance of adhesives. Enzymes for Industrial Applications http://www.reade.com/ezine/vol2issue2/reade0202_en_3.shtml Enzymes are the natural solution to industrial problems. Industrial enzymes are those catalysts used on large production-oriented scales to aid the reactions of mass quantities of chemicals. Gold and Silver Nanotubes Created at the Weizmann Institute http://www.reade.com/ezine/vol2issue2/reade0202_en_4.shtml Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have produced a new type of nanotube made of gold or silver, which are produced at room temperature and do not have the mechanical strength of the more common carbon nanotubes. NIST/CU-Boulder Scientists Create New Form of Matter - a Fermionic Condensate http://www.reade.com/ezine/vol2issue2/reade0202_en_5.shtml Scientists at JILA at Boulder (CU-Boulder) report the first observation of a Fermionic Condensate formed from pairs of atoms in a gas, a long-sought and novel form of matter. R&D Funding Forecast Upturns and Defense are Driving United States R&D in 2004 http://www.reade.com/ezine/vol2issue2/reade0202_en_6.shtml Renewed economic growth, albeit slow for industrial R&D, and strong U.S. federal funding for defense R&D will be the primary drivers for improved U.S. research & development spending and performance in 2004. Data Mining Boosts New Materials Searches http://www.reade.com/ezine/vol2issue2/reade0202_en_7.shtml The production of new materials has traditionally been done by experimentation, followed by painstaking characterization to determine the materials' properties. Intel Says Chip Speed Breakthrough Will Alter Cyberworld http://www.reade.com/ezine/vol2issue2/reade0202_en_8.shtml Intel scientists say that they have made silicon chips that can switch light like electricity, blurring the line between computing and communications and presenting a vision of the digital future that will allow computers themselves to span cities or even the entire globe. FTAA: NAFTA's Big Brother - What will it mean for the Metal Industry? http://www.reade.com/ezine/vol2issue2/reade0202_en_9.shtml The proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) can be thought of as a huge expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Experts are grappling with how it may help -or hamper- U.S. metal industry competitors.