Physicists step closer to creating switch for ultrafast computers

Aug 18th, 2008 | Filed under: Electronics | 0 Comments

University of Utah physicists successfully controlled an electrical current using the “spin” within electrons – a step toward building an organic “spin transistor”: a plastic semiconductor switch for future ultrafast computers and electronics.

The study also suggests it will be more difficult than thought to make highly efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using organic materials. The findings hint such LEDs would convert no more than 25 percent of electricity into light rather than heat, contrary to earlier estimates of up to 63 percent.

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Nano-material is key to clean drinking water

Aug 18th, 2008 | Filed under: Electronics | 0 Comments

Scientists at the University of South Australia, have discovered a simple way to remove bacteria and other contaminants from water using tiny particles of pure silica coated with an active nano-material.

The water treatment process is a new concept, not used anywhere else in the world, which has the potential to make a significant contribution to the health of nations worldwide.

A recent UNESCO report reveals that more than 6,000 people die every day from water-related diseases, and the availability of quality drinking water, especially in the developing world, is fast becoming a major socio-economic issue.

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Scientists overcome nanotech hurdle

Aug 15th, 2008 | Filed under: Electronics | 0 Comments

When scientists make a new material on a nanoscale how can they see what’s been made? A team lead by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences research Council (BBSRC) fellow has made a significant step toward overcoming this major challenge faced by nanotechnology scientists.

A team from the University of Liverpool, The School of Pharmacy (University of London) and the University of Leeds, show that they have developed a technique to examine tiny protein molecules called peptides on the surface of a gold nanoparticle. This is the first time scientists have been able to build a detailed picture of self-assembled peptides on a nanoparticle and it offers the promise of new ways to design and manufacture novel materials on the tiniest scale - one of the key aims of nanoscience.

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Nanotubes act as resilient shock absorbers

Aug 14th, 2008 | Filed under: Electronics | 0 Comments

Electronic devices get smaller and more complex every year. It turns out that fragility is the price for miniaturization, especially when it comes to small devices, such as cell phones, hitting the floor. Wouldn’t it be great if they bounced instead of cracked when dropped?

A team of Clemson University researchers, led by Apparao Rao, professor of physics, has invented a way to make beds of tiny, shock-absorbing carbon springs which possibly could be used to protect delicate objects from damaging impacts. With collaborators at the University of California at San Diego, the team has shown that layers of these tiny springs called coiled carbon nanotubes, each a thousand times smaller than a human hair, can act as extremely resilient shock absorbers.

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Advance monitoring for premature babies

Aug 14th, 2008 | Filed under: Bio Tech, Electronics | 0 Comments

A research project designed to help doctors detect subtle changes in the condition of critically ill premature babies has been launched by IBM and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT).

A group of researchers will use advanced stream computing software developed by IBM Research to work towards enhancing the decision making capabilities of doctors. The software ingests a constant stream of biological data such as heart rate and respiration, along with environmental data gathered from advanced sensors and more traditional monitoring equipment on or around the babies.

The type of information that will come out of the research project is not available today. Currently physicians monitoring ‘preemies’ rely on a paper-based process that involves manually looking at the readings from various monitors and getting feedback from the nurses providing care.

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Flexible nanoantennas capture solar energy continuously

Aug 13th, 2008 | Filed under: Design, Electronics | 0 Comments

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), have devised an inexpensive way to produce plastic sheets containing billions of nanoantennas that collect heat energy generated by the sun and other sources.

While methods to convert the energy into useable electricity still need to be developed, the sheets could one day be manufactured as lightweight ‘skins’ that power everything from hybrid cars to iPods with higher efficiency than traditional solar cells, say the researchers. The nanoantennas also have the potential to act as cooling devices that draw waste heat from buildings or electronics without using electricity.

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Metamaterials that bend light backwards bring invisibility closer

Aug 12th, 2008 | Filed under: Electronics | 0 Comments

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have for the first time engineered 3D materials that can reverse the natural direction of visible and near-infrared light, a development that could help form the basis for higher resolution optical imaging, nanocircuits for high-powered computers, and, to the delight of science-fiction and fantasy buffs, cloaking devices that could render objects invisible to the human eye.

Two breakthroughs in the development of metamaterials – composite materials with extraordinary capabilities to bend electromagnetic waves have been reported.

Applications for a metamaterial entail altering how light normally behaves. In the case of invisibility cloaks or shields, the material would need to curve light waves completely around the object like a river flowing around a rock. For optical microscopes to discern individual, living viruses or DNA molecules, the resolution of the microscope must be smaller than the wavelength of light.

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Stretchy material could lead to flexible electronics

Aug 11th, 2008 | Filed under: Design, Electronics | 0 Comments

Scientists from the University of Tokyo have developed a stretchy, rubbery material which is able to conduct electricity.

When the material, which comprises single wall carbon nanotubes, elastic resin and an ionic liquid, is attached to a grid of tiny transistors, it cab be stretched up to 2.34 times its original size, without adverse effects to the conductivity. Later it reverts to its original form.

A similar material was developed in 2005, but was only able to stretch 1.25 longer than its original size, and its conductivity limited to 10S/cm. The newly developed material has a conductivity of 57S/cm.

According to a paper published by the scientists working on the project, the material could be used to create flexible electronics, and there have been suggestions it could be used on the joints of a robot’s arm.

‘Edible optics’ could make food safer

Aug 8th, 2008 | Filed under: Electronics | 0 Comments

Imagine an edible optical sensor that could be placed in produce bags to detect harmful levels of bacteria and consumed right along with the veggies. Or an implantable device that would monitor glucose in your blood for a year, then dissolve.

Scientists at Tufts University’s School of Engineering have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to design such “living” optical elements that could enable an entirely new class of sensors.

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