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Food News- Fruit and Tree Nuts OutlookProvides current intelligence and forecasts the effects of changing conditions in the U.S. fruit and tree nuts sector. Topics include production, consumption, shipments, prices received, and more. Released by 4 p.m. ET. Subscribe to the free electronic version to receive timely notification of newsletter (and yearbook) availability. Users who subscribe to th […]
- Federal FundsThis product contains information from the Census Bureau's Consolidated Federal Funds Reports on Federal expenditures and obligations for grants, salaries and wages, procurements, direct payments, direct loans, guaranteed loans, and insurance obtained from Federal Government agencies. ERS screens the data for each Federal program for accuracy at the cou […]
- Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2010 EditionMost U.S. farms—98 percent in 2007—are family operations, and even the largest farms are predominantly family run. Large-scale family farms and nonfamily farms account for 12 percent of U.S farms but 84 percent of the value of production. In contrast, small family farms make up most of the U.S. farm count but produce a modest share of farm output. Small […]
- Monthly Milk Cost of ProductionMonthly milk cost of production estimates are available by State from January 2006 to the previous month. […]
- America’s Diverse Family Farms, 2010 EditionAmerican farms vary widely in size and other characteristics, but farming is still an industry of family businesses. Ninety-eight percent of farms are family farms, and they account for 82 percent of farm production. Small family farms make up most of the U.S. farm count and hold the majority of farm assets, but they produce a modest share of U.S. farm outpu […]
- Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook
- What Everyone Should Know About Energy
- How much of the world's electricity supply is generated from wind and who are the leading generators?Worldwide wind power generation exceeded 200 billion kilowatthours in 2008, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 18 million average households in the United States. Wind generation increased by about 25% from 2007 to 2008, and has more than tripled since 2003. […]
- How much of our electricity is generated from renewable sources?Americans used renewable energy sources — water (hydroelectric), geothermal, wind, sun (solar), and biomass — to meet about 7% of our total energy needs in 2008. […]
- What are greenhouse gases and how much are emitted by the United States?Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun and warm the planet's surface. Of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, 87% are related to energy consumption. Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions in the United States have grown by about 1% per year. In 2005, about 21% of the world's total energy-related carbon dioxide was emitted by the United States. […]
- How much of the world's electricity supply is generated from wind and who are the leading generators?
- Invasive Species
- Minnesota -- Zebra Mussels Found in Lake Minnetonka July 29, 2010Zebra Mussels Found in Lake Minnetonka (Jul 28, 2010) Minnesota... […]
- NOAA Awards $2.5 Million for Research on Invasive Species in the Great Lakes (Jul 23, 2010) July 29, 2010NOAA Awards $2.5 Million for Research on Invasive Species in... […]
- Minnesota -- Zebra Mussels Found in Lake Minnetonka July 29, 2010
The Spider Web: Paradox Of Super-strength
Research finds weakest chemical bonds produce materials stronger than steel
Since its development in China thousands of years ago, silk from silkworms, spiders and other insects has been used for high-end, luxury fabrics as well as for parachutes and medical sutures. Now, National Science Foundation-supported researchers are untangling some of its most closely guarded secrets, and explaining why silk is so super strong.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering say the key to silk’s pound-for-pound toughness, which exceeds that of steel, is its beta-sheet crystals, the nano-sized cross-linking domains that hold the material together.
Markus Buehler, the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Associate Professor in MIT’s department of civil and environmental engineering, and his team recently used computer models to simulate exactly how the components of beta sheet crystals move and interact with each other. They found that an unusual arrangement of hydrogen bonds–the “glue” that stabilizes the beta-sheet crystals–play an important role in defining the strength of silk.
They found that hydrogen bonds, which are among the weakest types of chemical bonds, gain strength when confined to spaces on the order of a few nanometers in size. Once in close proximity, the hydrogen bonds work together and become extremely strong. Moreover, if a hydrogen bond breaks, there are still many hydrogen bonds left that can contribute to the material’s overall strength, due to their ability to “self-heal” the beta-sheet crystals.
The researchers conclude that silk’s strength and ductility–its ability to bend or stretch without breaking–results from this peculiar arrangement of atomic bonds. They say controlling the size of the area in which hydrogen or other chemical bonds act can lead to significantly enhanced properties for future materials, even when the initial chemical bonds are very weak.
The journal Nature Materials reported the findings online March 14.
-NSF-