A transistor for light
A high-performance 'photonic transistor' that switches light signals instead of electronic signals could revolutionize optical signal processing.
Apr 25th, 2014
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Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines
Smart components that assemble themselves
Skylar Tibbits launches the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT, where researchers are building materials that can coalesce on their own to form structures.
Apr 25th, 2014
Read moreA new twist in the properties of light
Evanescent electromagnetic waves are found to have very different fundamental dynamical properties to those of normal light.
Apr 25th, 2014
Read more'Double-duty' electrolyte enables new chemistry for longer-lived batteries
Researchers have developed a new and unconventional battery chemistry aimed at producing batteries that last longer than previously thought possible.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreNanotechnology protects olive oil from counterfeiters
Just a few grams of the new substance are enough to tag the entire olive oil production of Italy. If counterfeiting were suspected, the nanoparticles added at the place of origin could be extracted from the oil and analysed, enabling a definitive identification of the producer.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreNanobubbles are superstable
Scientists have proven that the stability of nanobubbles is so high they remain stable even at the boiling point of water, triggering microdroplet nucleation.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreLithium-sulfur batteries last longer with nanomaterial-packed cathode
Metal organic framework captures troubling polysulfides that usually cause battery failure.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreWhen things get glassy, molecules go fractal
School children learn the difference between liquids and gases, but centuries of scholarship have failed to produce consensus about how to categorize glass. Now, combining theory and numerical simulations, researchers have resolved an enduring question in the theory of glasses, showing that their energy landscapes are far rougher than previously believed. The new model shows that molecules in glassy materials settle into a fractal hierarchy of states.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreSuccessful companies founded by physicists often break the Silicon Valley model
A new AIP report, titled Physics Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is based on extensive interviews with 140 PhD physicists and other professionals who co-founded and work at some 91 startup companies in 14 states that were established in the last few decades. These companies are engaged in making medical devices, manufacturing tools, nanotechnology, lasers and optical devices, renewable energy technologies and other products.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreMaking graphene work for real-world devices
Fundamental research in phonon scattering helps researchers design graphene materials for applications.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreCopper nanowires could become basis for new solar cells
By looking at a piece of material in cross section, researchersdiscovered how copper sprouts grass-like nanowires that could one day be made into solar cells.
Apr 23rd, 2014
Read moreSuperconducting qubit array points the way to quantum computers
A fully functional quantum computer is one of the holy grails of physics. A group of physicists has moved one step closer to making a quantum computer a reality.
Apr 23rd, 2014
Read moreAtomic switcheroo explains origins of thin-film solar cell mystery
Treating cadmium-telluride solar cell materials with cadmium-chloride improves their efficiency, but researchers have not fully understood why. Now, an atomic-scale examination of the thin-film solar cells has answered this decades-long debate about the materials' photovoltaic efficiency increase after treatment.
Apr 23rd, 2014
Read moreMicrogel-based thermoresponsive membranes for water filtration
Scientists have developed a very simple method for the modification of membranes through the inclusion of microgels.They report hollow-fiber membranes that demonstrate temperature-dependent flow and retention, thanks to thermoresponsive microgels.
Apr 23rd, 2014
Read moreFilters made of graphene - the thinnest feasible membrane
A new nanomembrane made out of graphene is extremely light and breathable. Not only can this open the door to a new generation of functional waterproof clothing, but also to ultra-rapid filtration. The membrane is as thin as is technologically feasible.
Apr 23rd, 2014
Read moreSteering chemical reactions with laser pulses
With ultra-short laser pulses, chemical reactions can be controlled; electrons have little mass and are therefore influenced by the laser, whereas the atomic nuclei are much heavier and are hardly affected.
Apr 23rd, 2014
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