Nanotechnology Spotlight – Latest Articles

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Showing Spotlights 25 - 32 of 199 in category All (newest first):

 

Exploring the frontiers of neuromorphic engineering: A journey into brain-inspired computing

neuronsNeuromorphic engineering is focused on developing computer hardware and software systems that mimic the structure, function, and behavior of the human brain. The goal of neuromorphic engineering is to create computing systems that are much more energy-efficient, scalable, and adaptive than conventional computer systems, and that can solve complex problems in a manner that is similar to how the brain solves problems. Neuromorphic computing is a specific application of neuromorphic engineering. It involves the use of hardware and software systems that are designed to process information in a manner that is similar to how the human brain processes information.

Feb 13th, 2023

Nanotechnology and the Internet of Things: Boosting efficiency and capability

IoTKey components that are essential to the functioning of the Internet of Things include sensors and devices, network connectivity, data storage and processing, user interfaces, and security. Many aspects of these elements can be enhanced by nanotechnologies. Nanotechnology can enhance the performance and capabilities of IoT devices by enabling the creation of smaller, more efficient, and more versatile sensors, antennas, and processors. These improvements can lead to greater accuracy, energy efficiency, and versatility in a variety of applications, including healthcare, industrial monitoring, and environmental sensing.

Jan 9th, 2023

Novel materials and technologies for urban farming

urban-farmingWith a growing sustainability movement around the globe, the concept of urban farming has gained huge popularity for the development of sustainable communities. Urban farming practices don't necessarily use the same practices as conventional farming; this is especially true for the more high-tech approaches taken in vertical farming and warehouse farming. There is an opportunity and a requirement for smart technologies and the use of novel materials in urban farming, which can contribute to building a higher productivity and more sustainable urban farms.

Jun 28th, 2022

Novel cellulose aerogel radiative coolers for building applications

aerogelThe development of efficient cooling technology based on environmentally friendly and biobased materials is crucial to many day-to-day activities. A novel, highly efficient cellulose nanocrystal aerogel radiative cooler acts as a dual-function thermal insulator and daytime passive radiant cooler. These aerogel coolers can save on average more than 35% in cooling energy consumption and they are capable of achieving a nearly 9 degree C drop under direct sunlight, they even work effectively in hot, moist, and fickle extreme surroundings.

Jun 16th, 2022

Nanotechnology in the Olympic Winter Games

skiingModern sports equipment often appears to be a showcase for new material technologies and nowhere has this been more true than in global sport competitions. Some of the high-tech materials used by athletes in competitive winter sports are using nanomaterials. But, as the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has shown, other areas have benefited from nanotechnologies and nanoscience as well: ice skating, wearable monitoring devices, and even nanomaterial-based Braille printing of Olympic service manuals and spectator guides for vision impaired readers.

Apr 25th, 2022

Nanowerk drops the AI-designed 'Giants of Nanotech' NFT collection

FeynmanWe have created two inaugural Nanowerk non-fungible token (NFT) collections in a series we are calling Giants of Nanotech in order to honor the great minds of science in this field. The digital artwork has been created using the artificial intelligence (AI) image creation algorithm Neural Style Transfer. The NFTs are tokenized on the Polygon Blockchain as a collectible on the OpenSea marketplace. Have fun with our NFTs and please remember, your purchase helps fund Nanowerk and we are very grateful to you!

Apr 10th, 2022

A new method to quantify structural helicity in chiral nanoparticles (w/video)

helixal-nanorodsResearchers have developed a novel technique to quantify the helical morphology of gold chiral nanorods. Such nanoparticles exhibit unique properties in a sense that they can change the circular polarization of light. In many cases, these properties are believed to be caused by the helical (or 'screw-like') morphology of the nanoparticles, but until now it was very difficult to objectively analyze their shape. This methodology is the first building block towards a fundamental understanding of the chiroptical activity of nanoparticles.

Mar 10th, 2022

Novel nanomaterial-based light sails for low-power spacecraft propulsion in Earth orbit and interplanetary travel

light-sailAdapting the concept of interstellar laser sailing for Earth orbital maneuvering and solar system exploration, researchers propose that the fundamental advantages of laser propulsion are manifested at much smaller laser powers in applications where conventional electric and chemical rockets are traditionally utilized. This approach makes use of low-power lasers, which are available already today, and novel light sail nanomaterials. These lasers push small, cell phone sized probes to velocities and destinations that are beyond the reach of current technologies, such as ever bigger chemical rockets being built or state-of-the-art ion engines.

Feb 2nd, 2022