Here is a selection of articles about nanotechnologywhich appeared in the last two weeks. I might post such a collection on a bimonthly basis. Enjoy!
Lasers drive nano locomotive
A researcher from Texas A&M University and Fudan University in China has designed a laser-powered molecular locomotive that runs along a molecular track and can generate a pulling force ten times greater than that of kinesin, a biological molecular motor.
A working prototype of the motor could be made within five years.
The research work has been published by Physical Review E on September 15, 2004 under the name "Bioinspired laser-operated molecular locomotive." Here is a link to the abstract.
Source: Technology Research News, November 17-24, 2004
'Self-cleaning' suits may be in your future
Sending your favorite suit to the dry cleaners could one day become an infrequent practice. Researchers at Clemson University are developing a highly water-repellant coating made of silver nanoparticles that they say can be used to produce suits and other clothing items that offer superior resistance to dirt as well as water and require much less cleaning than conventional fabrics.
Source: American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert!, November 22, 2004
Smallest 'test tube' scoops world record
The world’s smallest test tube has been created by UK scientists. And the tiny structures could be used to produce materials with unique properties.
A team with members from the University of Oxford and the University of Nottingham created minuscule test tubes which are in fact carbon nanotubes. They then filled each tube with fullerene oxide molecules which were coerced into polymerising in an ordered way as a result of the tube's shape.
The research work will be published by the Chemical Communications journal under the name "Chemical reactions inside single-walled carbon nano test-tubes." Here is a link to the abstract.
Source: Will Knight, New Scientist, November 23, 2004
Korean Scientists Make Nanotech Breakthrough
A team of Korean scientists was successful in developing a revolutionary technology to mass produce nontoxic uniform nanoparticles, a must in various futuristic applications.
It is the first time ever a technology for mass production of nontoxic uniform particles was developed although small-scale production technology has been tried outside Korea.
Source: Kim Tae-gyu, The Korea Times, November 29, 2004
Short nanotubes carry big currents
Researchers from Stanford University have developed a simple way to fabricate carbon nanotube devices whose length is as small as ten nanometers, and have shown that electricity can pass through the nanotubes very efficiently.
The researchers found that 10-nanometer-long, two-nanometer wide carbon nanotubes with metallic properties were capable of carrying four times more current -- about 100 microamps -- than longer nanotubes, and 4,000 times more current by size than copper wire at room temperature.
Source: Technology Research News, December 1-8, 2004
New microscope could focus nanotech dream
The U.S. Department of Energy is enlisting partners to develop a microscope that can capture images of particles measuring a half an angstrom, or half the size of a hydrogen atom, a necessary step in the nanotechnology evolution.
The $100 million project -- known as TEAM, or Transmission Electron Aberration-corrected Microscope--is being conducted at five national laboratories. The first TEAM microscope, which will be located at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., is expected to become operational by 2007 or 2008.
Source: Michael Kanellos, CNET News.com, December 1, 2004
Related stories can be found in the following categories.
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