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Nanoscale

SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

The downside of nanotech: do tiny particles spell big trouble?

By Darren Quick

18:01 December 14, 2009 PST

Are we rushing to embrace the potential benefits of nanotechnology without considering the...

We talk a lot about the wonders of nanotechnology here at Gizmag. After all it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement surround the technology when it promises to revolutionize practically every area of human endeavor. Among its long list of anticipated benefits are new medical treatments; stronger, lighter materials; improved energy production, storage and transmission; and more effective pollution monitoring and prevention, just to name a few. But nanotechnology is not just something set to come about in some far off future – it is happening now. In fact, the odds are there is a product either containing, or made using nanoparticles sitting in your house right now. But the big question is, are they safe? Read More

SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

Scientists squeeze more out of light

By Jeff Salton

20:23 December 9, 2009 PST

Scientists at the University of Adelaide, Australia, have devised a way to squeeze light b...

Scientists at the University of Adelaide, Australia, have put the squeeze on light. By discovering that light within optical fibers can be squeezed into much tighter spaces than was previously believed possible, the researchers at the University's Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) have claimed a breakthrough that could change the world's thinking on light’s capabilities, especially when it comes to its use in telecommunications, such as fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), computing and other light sources. Read More

RESEARCH WATCH

Light resonators used to move nano-sized objects

By Dario Borghino

22:55 November 19, 2009 PST

The nanoscale resonators developed at Cornell can exert relatively strong forces on tiny p...

Scientists at Cornell University report they can now use a light beam carrying a single milliwatt of power to move objects and even change the optical properties of silicon from opaque to transparent at the nanometric scale. Such an advancement could prove very useful for the future of micro-electromechanical (MEMS) and micro-optomechanical (MOMS) systems. Read More

RESEARCH WATCH

Sound could be the key in building tomorrow's nanostructures

By Dario Borghino

19:55 September 1, 2009 PDT

'Acoustic tweezers' enable flexible on-chip manipulation and patterning of cells using sta...

Researchers from Penn State University have found a way to precisely manipulate tiny objects using sound rather than optical instruments with a quick, energy-effective and technologically-simple technique that could have important applications in the fields of nanotechnology and biological research. Read More

RESEARCH WATCH

Nanoscale lasers continue to shrink, heralding new era in optical science

By Darren Quick

20:28 August 31, 2009 PDT

Schematic of light being compressed and sustained in the 5 nanometer gap (left) and an ele...

Breakthroughs are coming thick and fast – or should that be thin and fast – in the field of nanoscale lasers. It wasn’t even a month ago that we reported on the development of a laser emitting 'metal-semiconductor-metal sandwich', made up of a semiconductor as thin as 80 nanometers laying between 20-nanometer dielectric layers. But now researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have reached a new milestone in laser physics by creating the world's smallest semiconductor laser, capable of generating visible light in a space smaller than a single protein molecule. Read More

ELECTRONICS

Tiny lasers hold key to nano-circuitry

By Dario Borghino

18:31 August 23, 2009 PDT

Scanning electron microscope images (b and c) show that the gold core and the thickness of...

Researchers at Cornell, Purdue and Norfolk State University have reported the successful creation of a 'spaser', a new kind of nanoscale laser that breaks dimensional limits previously thought to be insurmountable, leading the way to significantly faster and more efficient computer processing and data transfer rates. Read More

RESEARCH WATCH

Self-healing paint is just the beginning

By Darren Quick

06:04 August 6, 2009 PDT

The nano-capsules in the electroplated layer contain a fluid that is released if the layer...

Human skin has an amazing capacity to heal itself from scratches and cuts, so it’s not surprising that scientists are looking at transferring the self-healing properties of skin to industrial materials. Efforts to embed tiny liquid-filled capsules that rupture when a scratch occurs to spill healing agents into the damaged area of electroplated coatings have previously been hampered by the size of these capsules. But now researchers have developed a process for producing electroplated layers with nano-capsules that measure only a few hundred nanometers in diameter that could solve the problem. Read More

RESEARCH WATCH

Researchers take first steps towards strain-based graphene engineering

By Dario Borghino

19:08 August 5, 2009 PDT

Graphene consists of carbon atoms only one atomic layer thick, with the unique characteris...

Scientists have long known the unique properties of graphene, a material just one-atom thick that shows promise as a replacement for silicon in electronics of the future. One of the difficulties is that unpredictable ripples form in graphene when exposed to temperature changes, but now scientists are learning more about how to control formation of these ripples, which could open up a new field of research - strain-based graphene electronics. Read More

 
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