Making colors from black and white
Colorfast pigments made from amorphous arrays of silicon dioxide and carbon black.
Posted: May 27th, 2013
Read moreHydrogen atoms under the magnifying glass
Scientists have succeeded in building a microscope that allows magnifying the wave function of excited electronic states of the hydrogen atom by a factor of more than twenty-thousand, leading to a situation where the nodal structure of these electronic states can be visualized on a two-dimensional detector.
Posted: May 27th, 2013
Read moreHelicopter-light-beams - a new tool for quantum optics
A light wave oscillates perpendicular to its propagation direction - that is what students learn in school. However, scientists of the Vienna University of Technology now perform atom-physics experiments with light oscillating in the longitudinal direction.
Posted: May 27th, 2013
Read moreIreland's leading nanotechnology institute celebrates with world's smallest birthday cake
World's 'smallest birthday cake', 2000 times smaller than a grain of salt unveiled.
Posted: May 27th, 2013
Read moreExploring friction at the nanoscale by simulating toy-like systems
Scientists have studied the conditions in which at the nanoscopic level the switch from smooth sliding to stick-slip regime occurs, simulating 'toy-like' systems of 'cold ions'.
Posted: May 24th, 2013
Read moreScientists build record-setting metamaterial flat lens
For the first time, scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a new type of lens that bends and focuses ultraviolet (UV) light in such an unusual way that it can create ghostly, 3D images of objects that float in free space. The easy-to-build lens could lead to improved photolithography, nanoscale manipulation and manufacturing, and even high-resolution three-dimensional imaging, as well as a number of as-yet-unimagined applications in a diverse range of fields.
Posted: May 24th, 2013
Read moreNano-needles for cells
Nano-sized needles developed by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim can force medicine into cells, even when the cell membranes offer resistance. The needles will make it easier to study the effects of medicines on cells.
Posted: May 24th, 2013
Read moreBalance is key to making quantum-dot solar cells work
MIT team finds that the ratio of component atoms is vital to performance.
Posted: May 24th, 2013
Read moreA quantum simulator for magnetic materials
Physicists understand perfectly well why a fridge magnet sticks to certain metallic surfaces. But there are more exotic forms of magnetism whose properties remain unclear, despite decades of intense research. An important step towards filling these gaps comes now from Tilman Esslinger and his group at the Department of Physics. The team has developed a new kind of device that uses laser beams and atoms to emulate magnetic materials.
Posted: May 23rd, 2013
Read moreNew filtration material could make petroleum refining cheaper, more efficient
A newly synthesized material might provide a dramatically improved method for separating the highest-octane components of gasoline.
Posted: May 23rd, 2013
Read moreGraphene - what next after the hype?
Graphene has already come a long way towards commercialisation, despite its short history. Manufacturers are busy closing their second or third round of financing and many are installing multi-tonne production capacities across the world.
Posted: May 23rd, 2013
Read moreIn the no man's land of nanoscale ice crystals
Simulations allow first insights into the crystallization of tiny water droplets.
Posted: May 23rd, 2013
Read moreGold nanocrystal vibration captured on billion-frames-per-second film
A billon-frames-per-second film has captured the vibrations of gold nanocrystals in stunning detail for the first time.
Posted: May 23rd, 2013
Read moreNovel natural nanomaterial spins off from spider-mite genome sequencing
A new, natural nanomaterial, which may prove incredibly beneficial to medical bioengineers, has been discovered by the research team at Western University that successfully sequenced the spider mite genome in 2011.
Posted: May 23rd, 2013
Read moreStitching defects into the world's thinnest semiconductor
In pioneering new research at Columbia University, scientists have grown high-quality crystals of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), the world's thinnest semiconductor, and studied how these crystals stitch together at the atomic scale to form continuous sheets.
Posted: May 22nd, 2013
Read moreNew type of transparent electrode could bring flexible solar cells, transistors, displays
Researchers have created a new type of transparent electrode that might find uses in solar cells, flexible displays for computers and consumer electronics and future optoelectronic circuits for sensors and information processing.
Posted: May 22nd, 2013
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