Tag Archives: nanoscale

Flawed Diamonds Promise Sensory Perfection

By Guest PostJune 10, 2013Scienceandrey jarmola, berkeley lab, binary digit, biophysics, carbon atoms, center, defense, degrees kelvin, diamond defect, dmitry budker, electron spin coherence, electrons, flawed diamonds, fluoresce, gyroscopes, hebrew university, Jerusalem, liquid nitrogen, magnetic resonance imaging, mri, nanoscale, nir bar gill, nitrogen vacancy, nuclear spin, nv, oscillating magnetic fields, quadrillionths, quantum computer, quantum information, ronald walsworth, rotational sensors, second, sensory perfection, smart phones, temperature

Berkeley Lab researchers and their colleagues extend electron spin in diamond for incredibly tiny magnetic detectors

From brain to heart to stomach, the bodies of humans and animals generate weak magnetic fields that a supersensitive detector could use to pinpoint illnesses, trace drugs – and maybe even read minds. Sensors no bigger than a thumbnail could map gas deposits underground, analyze chemicals, and pinpoint explosives that hide from other probes.

Now scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California at Berkeley, working with colleagues from Harvard University, have improved the performance of one of the most potent possible sensors of magnetic fields on the nanoscale – a diamond defect no bigger than a pair of atoms, called a nitrogen vacancy (NV) center. (more…)

Bio-inspired Fibres Change Colour When Stretched

By Guest PostFebruary 6, 2013Sciencealfie lethbridge, bastard hogberry, bio inspired fibres, birds, blue colour, bright iridescent, cells, change colour, creation, cylindrical cross section, eye on earth, fruit, geographic area, Germany, harvard laboratories, harvard university, heat, joanna aizenberg, key elements, light and colour, ludwig maximilians university, margaritaria nobilis, mathias kolle, moritz kreysing, nanoscale, new fibre, peter vukusic, photonic fibres, polymer bilayer, pressure, principal investigator, seed, skin, smart fabrics, soap bubbles, south american, specific biological function, technological design, tropical plant, unique structural elements, university of exeter, vibrant colour, when stretched

A team of materials scientists at Harvard University and the University of Exeter has invented a new fibre which changes colour when stretched. Inspired by nature, the researchers identified and replicated the unique structural elements, which create the bright iridescent blue colour of a tropical plant’s fruit.

The multilayered fibre, described in the journal Advanced Materials, could lend itself to the creation of smart fabrics that visibly react to heat or pressure.

“Our new fibre is based on a structure we found in nature, and through clever engineering we’ve taken its capabilities a step further,” says lead author Dr Mathias Kolle, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “The plant, of course, cannot change colour. By combining its structure with an elastic material, however, we’ve created an artificial version that passes through a full rainbow of colours as it’s stretched.” (more…)

Researchers Create Flexible, Nanoscale ‘Bed of Nails’ for Possible Drug Delivery

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2013Sciencealuminum substrate, anatoli melechko, balloon, bed of nails, brain, bryan anderson, carbon nanofibers, drug delivery systems, elastic membrane, elastic silicone membrane, embedding carbon nanofibers, joseph tracy, justin railsback, liquid silicone polymer, mehmet sarac, nanofibers, nanoscale, needle like, north Carolina, ryan pearce, state university, technique, timothy mcknight

Researchers at North Carolina State University have come up with a technique to embed needle-like carbon nanofibers in an elastic membrane, creating a flexible “bed of nails” on the nanoscale that opens the door to development of new drug-delivery systems.

The research community is interested in finding new ways to deliver precise doses of drugs to specific targets, such as regions of the brain. One idea is to create balloons embedded with nanoscale spikes that are coated with the relevant drug. Theoretically, the deflated balloon could be inserted into the target area and then inflated, allowing the spikes on the balloon’s surface to pierce the surrounding cell walls and deliver the drug. The balloon could then be deflated and withdrawn. (more…)

Seeing in Color at the Nanoscale

By Guest PostDecember 12, 2012Scienceafm, alex weber bargioni, atomic force microscope, atomic microscopy, berkeley lab, color, conversion, data, diederik wiersma, electric energy, electrons, fabrication, far field light, francesca intonti, frank ogletree, geometries, imagery, indium phosphide nanowires, james schuck, jeffrey bokor, mauro meli, multidimensional, nano optics, nanoscale, nanoscale objects, nanoscience, nanospectroscopic imaging, optical fiber, optical spectroscopy, optoelectronic properties, photons, plasmons, shaul aloni, solar, stephano cabrini, sub nanoscale resolution, topological map, wei bao

Berkeley Lab scientists develop a new nanotech tool to probe solar-energy conversion

If nanoscience were television, we’d be in the 1950s. Although scientists can make and manipulate nanoscale objects with increasingly awesome control, they are limited to black-and-white imagery for examining those objects. Information about nanoscale chemistry and interactions with light—the atomic-microscopy equivalent to color—is tantalizingly out of reach to all but the most persistent researchers.

But that may all change with the introduction of a new microscopy tool from researchers at the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) that delivers exquisite chemical details with a resolution once thought impossible. The team developed their tool to investigate solar-to-electric energy conversion at its most fundamental level, but their invention promises to reveal new worlds of data to researchers in all walks of nanoscience. (more…)

Improving Batteries

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012Sciencebattery systems, block copolymer, conducting membranes, conductivity, delaware, doctoral student, improve, innate properties, kipp gutshall, lightweight, lithium battery, mechanical strength, membrane, nanoscale, structure, temperature stability, thermal properties, thomas epps, university, wei fan kuan

UD doctoral student studies ways to improve lithium battery performance

Lithium batteries are used in many devices such as cell phones, computers and cameras, among others.

University of Delaware doctoral student Wei-Fan Kuan is investigating ways to improve membranes used in lithium batteries by capitalizing on the innate properties of block copolymers.

It is work that he believes will become increasingly important as the components in electronic devices continue to get smaller. (more…)

Researchers Develop New, Less Expensive Nanolithography Technique

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2012Scienceabsorb, albena ivanisevic, approach, biomedical application, chapel hill, humidity, marcus a kramer, micron, nanolithography, nanoscale, north Carolina, polymer, silicon strip, spore, state university, substrate surface, surface, technique, water

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new nanolithography technique that is less expensive than other approaches and can be used to create technologies with biomedical applications.

“Among other things, this type of lithography can be used to manufacture chips for use in biological sensors that can identify target molecules, such as proteins or genetic material associated with specific medical conditions,” says Dr. Albena Ivanisevic, co-author of a paper describing the research. Ivanisevic is an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and associate professor of the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nanolithography is a way of printing patterns at the nanoscale. (more…)

Going Big

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2012Scienceamanda wu, behavior of materials, carbon nanotube, China, chou research group, composite applications, fiber, force, go big, macroscale, nanoscale, sensor, strain, strain rate, tsinghua university, tsu wei chou, university of delaware, van der waals, weibang lu

UD researchers report progress in development of carbon nanotube-based continuous fibers

The Chou research group in the University of Delaware’s College of Engineering recently reported on advances in carbon nanotube-based continuous fibers with invited articles in Advanced Materials and Materials Today, two high impact scientific journals.

According to Tsu-Wei Chou, Pierre S. du Pont Chair of Engineering, who co-authored the articles with colleagues Weibang Lu and Amanda Wu, there has been a concerted scientific effort over the last decade to “go big” – to translate the superb physical and mechanical properties of nanoscale carbon nanotubes to the macroscale. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Scientists Generate Electricity From Viruses

By Guest PostMay 19, 2012Scienceberkeley lab, bone, byung yang lee, ceramics, crystals, dan krotz, DNA, electric charge, electric cigarette, electricity, electricity from viruses, futuristic scenario, m13 bacteriophage, mechanical energy, mechanical stress, nano building block, nano devices, nanoamperes, nanoscale, piezoelectricity, proteins, ramamoorthy ramesh, seung wuk lee, Technology

New approach is a promising first step toward the development of tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from everyday tasks

Imagine charging your phone as you walk, thanks to a paper-thin generator embedded in the sole of your shoe. This futuristic scenario is now a little closer to reality. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to generate power using harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity.

The scientists tested their approach by creating a generator that produces enough current to operate a small liquid-crystal display. It works by tapping a finger on a postage stamp-sized electrode coated with specially engineered viruses. The viruses convert the force of the tap into an electric charge. (more…)