What are active materials? This book aims to introduce and redefine conceptions of matter by considering materials as entities that ‘sense’ and respond to their environment. By examining the modeling of, the experiments on, and the construction of these materials, and by developing a theory of their structure, their collective activity, and their functionality, this volume identifies and develops a novel scientific approach to active materials. Moreover, essays on the history and philosophy of metallurgy, chemistry, biology, and materials science provide these various approaches to active materials with a historical and cultural context. The interviews with experts from the natural sciences included in this volume develop new understandings of ‘active matter’ and active materials in relation to a range of research objects and from the perspective of different scientific disciplines, including biology, physics, chemistry, and materials science. These insights are complemented by contributions on the activity of matter and materials from the humanities and the design field. Discusses the mechanisms of active materials and their various conceptualizations in materials science. Redefines conceptions of active materials through interviews with experts from the natural sciences. Contextualizes, historizes, and reflects on different notions of matter/materials and activity through contributions from the humanities. A highly interdisciplinary approach to a cutting-edge research topic, with contributions from both the sciences and the humanities.

What are active materials? This book aims to introduce and redefine conceptions of matter by considering materials as entities that ‘sense’ and respond to their environment. By examining the modeling of, the experiments on, and the construction of these materials, and by developing a theory of their structure, their collective activity, and their functionality, this volume identifies and develops a novel scientific approach to active materials. Moreover, essays on the history and philosophy of metallurgy, chemistry, biology, and materials science provide these various approaches to active materials with a historical and cultural context. The interviews with experts from the natural sciences included in this volume develop new understandings of ‘active matter’ and active materials in relation to a range of research objects and from the perspective of different scientific disciplines, including biology, physics, chemistry, and materials science. These insights are complemented by contributions on the activity of matter and materials from the humanities and the design field. Discusses the mechanisms of active materials and their various conceptualizations in materials science. Redefines conceptions of active materials through interviews with experts from the natural sciences. Contextualizes, historizes, and reflects on different notions of matter/materials and activity through contributions from the humanities. A highly interdisciplinary approach to a cutting-edge research topic, with contributions from both the sciences and the humanities.

This book covers biodevices, mainly implantable or quirurgical, for the diagnosis or treatment of different pathologies, which benefit from the use of active materials as sensors or actuators. Such active or "intelligent" materials are capable of responding in a controlled way to different external physical or chemical stimuli by changing some of t

The first book on active matter, an emerging field focused on programming physical materials to assemble themselves, transform autonomously, and react to information. The past few decades brought a revolution in computer software and hardware; today we are on the cusp of a materials revolution. If yesterday we programmed computers and other machines, today we program matter itself. This has created new capabilities in design, computing, and fabrication, which allow us to program proteins and bacteria, to generate self-transforming wood products and architectural details, and to create clothing from “intelligent textiles” that grow themselves. This book offers essays and sample projects from the front lines of the emerging field of active matter. Active matter and programmable materials are at the intersection of science, art, design, and engineering, with applications in fields from biology and computer science to architecture and fashion. These essays contextualize current work and explore recent research. Sample projects, generously illustrated in color, show the range of possibilities envisioned by their makers. Contributors explore the design of active material at scales from nano to micro, kilo, and even planetary. They investigate processes of self-assembly at a microscopic level; test new materials that can sense and actuate themselves; and examine the potential of active matter in the built environment and in living and artificial systems. Active Matter is an essential guide to a field that could shape the future of design.

Inspired by naturally occurring light-active molecular systems such as photosynthesis, scientists have long devoted their efforts to understanding how light and molecules interact. Based on a raft of knowledge on light absorption, energy migration and electron transfer, fluorescence and phosphorescence, and various photochemical reactions, light can now be utilized for energy conversion, information storage, medical applications, and development of next-generation photofunctional materials that cannot be obtained via conventional organic synthesis. This book overviews some of the cutting-edge p-conjugated molecular and polymer materials for organic photovoltaics, artificial photosynthesis, and organic light-emitting devices. It gives insights into the interactions between light and molecules and discusses sophisticated molecular designs, self-assembly and self-organization strategies, and state-of-the-art unconventional analytical methods.

Because of the increasing demand for high-safety and low-cost energy storage devices, aqueous Zn batteries are attracting broad interests. Tremendous and increasing efforts are being dedicated to aqueous Zn batteries for better understanding the mechanism, and improving the cycle life and energy density. This book is uniquely placed to be a compendium of the state of the art by key players in the field with diverse and complementary sets of expertise. It will cover all parts of the device, including electrode design, electrolyte engineering, different battery design, flexible devices, and thermal protection. You are looking at the most comprehensive and inclusive collection of opinions and trends in the field of aqueous Zn batteries.