University of Michigan researchers have discovered a way to self-assemble nanoparticles into wires, sheets, shells and other unusual structures using sticky patches that make the particles group themselves together in programmed ways. This method could be used to fabricate new materials and devices for nanotechnology.
Using computer simulation of model particles, Zhenli Zhang, U-M research fellow in chemical engineering, and Sharon Glotzer, U-M associate professor in chemical engineer
Penn State engineer has developed a new technology that uses light-activated glue to hold workpieces in position for machining, grinding and other manufacturing processes.
Dr. Edward De Meter, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, who developed the concept, says, “This new technology offers an alternative to mechanical clamping, the approach industries most often use. Capital investment for automated clamping is typically high and mechanical clamps can deform the w
A method that creates smooth and strong interfaces between metals and metal oxides without high-temperature brazing has been patented by researchers at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the University of North Texas.
The method can improve magnetic random-access memories, which allow next-generation computers to boot up instantly yet retain their entire memories after power interruptions. Depositin
A University at Buffalo research team has invented a new way to synthesize quantum dots — luminescent nanocrystals made from semiconductor material.
Sometimes called artificial atoms, quantum dots have the potential to be used to build exciting new devices for biological and environmental sensing, quantum computing, lasers and telecommunications, among other applications.
The new technique developed by a team led by T.J. Mountziaris, Ph.D., professor of chemical and biolog
A nanocrystalline metal is one whose average grain size is measured in billionths of a meter, much smaller than in most ordinary metals. As the grain size of a metal shrinks, it can become many times stronger, but it also usually loses ductility. To take advantage of increasing strength with decreasing grain size, researchers must first understand a fundamental problem: by what processes do nanosized crystals of metal stretch, bend, or otherwise deform under strain?
A team of re
Scientists at the University of Chicago have discovered a better way to measure a confounding property of microscopic high-tech particles called quantum dots.
Quantum dots, also called nanocrystals, emit light in a rainbow of colors and are used in lasers, biological studies and other applications, but their tendency to blink hinders their technological value. Imagine the annoyance caused by a randomly flickering light bulb.
“A quantum dot might blink for just a millionth of a sec
Polystyrene foam is widely used in a variety of applications, including building insulation, packaging and drinking cups. These different types of foam are all commercially produced from a single starting material – high-density spherical beads of expandable polystyrene (EPS).
The beads are expanded and moulded by the end product manufacturers using a blowing agent. Currently, pentane is used, but it is an inflammable, volatile organic compound (VOC) and up to half remains in the EPS after
Researchers of Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands have developed a new clean, process to isolate valuable or undesired components from solids, such as components for food products. In contrast to other conventional processes, the new invention concerns a continuous process that can be controlled easily and secondly, leads to higher extraction yields.
Many odours and flavours are extracted from plant tissues by dissolving in organic solvents, such as hexane and alc
Current electronic technologies can’t create smaller computers and other devices because they are reaching physical limitations, so University of Arkansas scientists seek to harness an electron’s spin to create tiny machines with large memories. To do this, they have built a microscope that may allow them to be the first researchers to measure the properties of electron spin injection in conducting materials.
Paul Thibado, associate professor of physics, won a $370,000 grant from the Natio
What happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas for device’s inventors
Back in 2002, Stanford University engineers Kevin Montgomery, PhD, and Carsten Mundt, PhD, found themselves bored at a conference in Las Vegas. So they did what you’d expect from any researchers stuck in Sin City with frequent thoughts about life in outer space: They headed to a casino, downed a few cocktails and drew up a plan for the ideal physiological monitor for astronauts.
But here’s
USC/UT ’Quantum Dot’ nanodevices promise improved night vision goggles, medical sensors and more
Researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Texas at Austin have built and tested a device based on nanostructures called quantum dots that can sensitively detect infrared radiation in a crucial wavelength range. Quantum dot IR receptor unit.
The atmosphere is opaque to most infrared, but it is transparent for a narrow “window” between 8 a
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and Northern Illinois University have shown that very thin materials can still retain an electric polarization, opening the potential for a wide range of tiny devices.
The researchers found that the ferroelectric phase – the ability to hold a switchable electric polarization – is stable for thicknesses as small as 1.2 nanometers, one-billionth of a meter, or a size several hundred thousand times smaller than t
Two major British landmarks now count among the world’s smallest objects
Scientists & engineers based at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne specialising in miniaturisation technology have recreated North East England’s Tyne Bridge and Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North sculpture so they are smaller than a pinhead and invisible to the naked eye.
The team used a combination of chemistry, physics and mechanical engineering techniques to create the tiny struct
Eric Drexler, known as the father of nanotechnology, today (Wednesday, 9th June 2004) publishes a paper that admits that self-replicating machines are not vital for large-scale molecular manufacture, and that nanotechnology-based fabrication can be thoroughly non-biological and inherently safe.
Talk of runaway self-replicating machines, or “grey goo”, which he first cautioned against in his book Engines of Creation in 1986, has spurred fears that have long hampered rational public debate ab
An innovative yarn tension measuring instrument which could help cut textile makers’ costs, has been unveiled at the University of Leeds.
Yarn tension directly affects the quality of cloth, so the device is important for textile manufacturers, in particular for British firms, many of which are specialising in the increasingly important technical textiles market.
The novelty of the instrument is that it is does not need to touch the yarn, so machines do not need to be stopped and mea
With Euro 2004 fast approaching, all eyes will be fixed on David Beckham’s right foot, with the fervent hope that he will kick the perfect free kick. Now researchers at Loughborough University have invented the world’s first device to capture this magic formula – in an instant.
To kick the perfect free kick, the ball must travel with sufficient speed and elevation to clear any defensive wall, whilst spinning fast enough to swerve away from the goalkeeper and into the goal. Until now it has n
Feedback
