Posts Tagged ‘MREs’
New Nanostructured Snack Packaging Is Most Airtight Ever
The nanobrick film was unveiled over the weekend at the National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, Calif. According to Jaime Grunlan, who developed the material, it is "truly the most oxygen-impermeable film in existence," as impervious to air as glass is.
Snack makers have experimented with a wide range of , all meant to keep food fresh even as it languishes on store shelves. Most of the packaging processes are meant to keep out oxygen; current examples include soda bottles coated with silicon oxide and chip bags lined with foil. But metal — also used in the military’s meals ready to eat — can’t be microwaved, and consumers can’t see inside to glimpse the tasty treats.
The new material would be layered onto an existing plastic package, improving its strength and blocking oxygen, according to a news release from the ACS. It’s made from montmorillonite clay, a soil component that is also used to make bricks, but it looks transparent.
Beyond keeping Twinkies fresh for millennia, the nanobricks could also be used to make flexible electronics, tires and even sporting goods, according to ACS. “It could potentially help basketballs and footballs stay inflated longer than existing balls,” ACS says.
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A Portable Battery That Runs on Saltwater – or Urine
MetalCell was designed with militaries in mind; on the modern battlefield, soldiers rely on a growing array of electronics to execute their missions, but when operating in remote areas or cut off from support, those devices can run out of juice at inopportune moments. But MetalCell can sit in the back of a Humvee, in a remote bunker, or in a locker at a forward operating base for years, waiting to power up electrical devices in a pinch.
The rugged little boxes are similar to the so-called dating to the early centuries A.D. that some researchers believe were the first voltage-creating devices. Fitted with magnesium plates inside, the MetalCell can be charged up with nothing more than the addition of saltwater. The sodium in the salt reacts with the magnesium to create a dose of low-voltage power that can power up laptop, a flashlight, night vision specs, etc. when no other source is available. The output can keep a laptop humming for more than four hours and can be recharged with fresh saltwater until the magnesium begins to deteriorate.
Soldiers can pool salt from their Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MREs) to create the a proper sodium solution, but failing that, soldiers could also charge up the MetalCell with their urine (and given the blandness of MREs, they might opt to). That's an energy-rich resource a grunt can always lay his hands on.
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