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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…)

The Weird World of “Remote Heating”

By Guest PostApril 10, 2012Scienceatom, bounce, carbon nanotube, electric current, electron, john cumings, joule heating, kamal baloch, metal wire, nanoelectronic, nanometer, nanoscale, nature nanotechnology, object, phenomenon, university of maryland

*UMD Researchers Discover Nanoscale Phenomena with Potential for Computer Speed Advances*

College Park, Md.– A team of University of Maryland scientists have discovered that when electric current is run through carbon nanotubes, objects nearby heat up while the nanotubes themselves stay cool, like a toaster that burns bread without getting hot. Understanding this completely unexpected new phenomenon could lead to new ways of building computer processors that can run at higher speeds without overheating.

“This is a new phenomenon we’re observing, exclusively at the nanoscale, and it is completely contrary to our intuition and knowledge of Joule heating at larger scales-for example, in things like your toaster,” says first author Kamal Baloch, who conducted the research while a graduate student at the University of Maryland. “The nanotube’s electrons are bouncing off of something, but not its atoms. Somehow, the atoms of the neighboring materials-the silicon nitride substrate-are vibrating and getting hot instead.” (more…)

‘Bed-of-Nails’ Breast Implant Deters Cancer Cells

By Guest PostMarch 26, 2012Healthbed of nails, blood vessel, breast cancer, brown university, cancer tumor, cell, cell function, chemical analysis, electron spectroscopy, lijuan zhang, malignant, michael platek, nanoscale, Nanotechnology, plga, protein, regrowth, thomas webster, tumor, united states, university of rhode island, vegf

Researchers at Brown University have created an implant that appears to deter breast cancer cell regrowth. Made from a common federally approved polymer, the implant is the first to be modified at the nanoscale in a way that causes a reduction in the blood-vessel architecture that breast cancer tumors depend upon, while also attracting healthy breast cells. Results are published in Nanotechnology.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — One in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer. Of those, many will undergo surgery to remove the tumor and will require some kind of breast reconstruction afterward, often involving implants. Cancer is an elusive target, though, and malignant cells return for as many as one-fifth of women originally diagnosed, according to the American Cancer Society. (more…)

Diamonds and Dust for Better Cement

By Guest PostDecember 15, 2011Scienceadvanced light source, als, atomic scale structure, baking limestone, basic materials, beam of x rays, bulk modulus, c s h, calcium carbonate, calcium ions, calcium silicate hydrate, calipso, carbon dioxide, clay, clinker, CO2 emissions, diamonds, diffraction patterns, durability of concrete, human activity, hydrostatic pressure, mineral tobermorite, models, nanoscale, paulo monteiro, performance of cement, portland cement, practical alternatives, pressure, quaint village, scottish isle of mull, silicates, simon clark, southern california, stiffness, structure, surface of earth, university of california at berkeley, versatile concrete, water molecules

Structural studies at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source could point to reduced carbon emissions and stronger cements

It’s no surprise that humans the world over use more water, by volume, than any other material. But in second place, at over 17 billion tons consumed each year, comes concrete made with Portland cement. Portland cement provides the essential binder for strong, versatile concrete; its basic materials are found in many places around the globe; and, at about $100 a ton, it’s relatively cheap. Making it, however, releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide, accounting for more than five percent of the total CO₂ emissions from human activity.

“Portland cement is the most important building material in the world,” says Paulo Monteiro, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, “but if we are going to find ways to use it more efficiently – or just as important, search for practical alternatives – we need a full understanding of its structure on the nanoscale.” To this end Monteiro has teamed with researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. (more…)

The Brittleness of Aging Bones – More than a Loss of Bone Mass

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2011Scienceadvanced light source, age related structural changes in human cortical bone, als, berkeley lab, biological aging, björn busse, bone strength and fracture toughness, bones, brittle, calcium, collagen molecules, concentric rings of lamellae plates, department of energy, doe, elizabeth zimmermann, eric schaible, fracturing, ha, holly barth, hrishikesh bale, human cortical or compact bone, hydroxyapatite, joel ager, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, loss of mass, macroscopic fracture testing, molecular level, nanocrystals, nanoscale, older bones fracturing, peter reichert, robert ritchie, simon tang, tamara alliston, uc, university of california, young human bone

*Berkeley Lab Researchers Show How Loss of Bone Quality Also a Major Factor*

It is a well-established fact that as we grow older our bones become more brittle and prone to fracturing. It is also well established that loss of mass is a major reason for older bones fracturing more readily than younger bones, hence medical treatments have focused on slowing down this loss. However, new research from scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) shows that at microscopic dimensions, the age-related loss of bone quality can be every bit as important as the loss of quantity in the susceptibility of bone to fracturing. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Researchers Create Next-Generation Chemical Mapping on the Nanoscale

By Guest PostApril 7, 2011Sciencealexander weber bargioni, biofuels production, carbon nanotubes, chemical mapping method, coaxial antenna, frank ogletree, hyperspectral nanoscale, interfaces, jim schuck, light harvesting applications, molecular chemistry, molecular foundry, nanomaterials, nanoscale, optical microscopy, optical probe, pixel, plasmonic probes, solar cells, static imaging techniques, words

A pixel is worth a thousand words? Not exactly how the saying goes, but in this case, it holds true: scientists at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry have pioneered a new chemical mapping method that provides unprecedented insight into materials at the nanoscale. Moving beyond traditional static imaging techniques, which provide a snapshot in time, these new maps will guide researchers in deciphering molecular chemistry and interactions at the nanoscale—critical for artificial photosynthesis, biofuels production and light-harvesting applications such as solar cells.

“This new technique allows us to capture very high-resolution images of nanomaterials with a huge amount of physical and chemical information at each pixel,” says Alexander Weber-Bargioni, a postdoctoral scholar in the Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures Facility at the Foundry. “Usually when you take an image, you just get a picture of what this material looks like, but nothing more. With our method, we can now gain information about the functionality of a nanostructure with rich detail.” (more…)

Enhancing the Magnetism: Berkeley Researchers Find Enhanced and Controllable Magnetization in Unique Bismuth Ferrite Films

By Guest PostMarch 27, 2011Sciencebfo, bismuth ferrite, dick tracy, domain walls, helen he, information age, john heron, magnetism, magnetoelectronic, multiferroic property, nanoscale, partial relaxation, qing, ramamoorthy ramesh, rhombohedral phases, spintronic devices, spontaneous magnetism, spontaneous magnetization, universe, ying hao chu

“The nation that controls magnetism will control the universe,” famed fictional detective Dick Tracy predicted back in 1935. Probably an overstatement, but there’s little doubt the nation that leads the development of advanced magnetoelectronic or “spintronic” devices is going to have a serious leg-up on its Information Age competition. A smaller, faster and cheaper way to store and transfer information is the spintronic grand prize and a key to winning this prize is understanding and controlling a multiferroic property known as “spontaneous magnetization.”

Now, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have been able to enhance spontaneous magnetization in special versions of the popular multiferroic material bismuth ferrite. What’s more, they can turn this magnetization “on/off” through the application of an external electric field, a critical ability for the advancement of spintronic technology. (more…)

Tag Archives: nanoscale