Optical cloaking possible with nanotechnology

Posted on February 1, 2012 by admin

How about getting invisible, probably this was always a childhood dream of mine. Nanotechnology has gone ahead to realize this dream of a lot of us by creating an optical cloaking device which can make objects invisible by moving light around whatever is placed inside this cloak. In this case engineers from Purdue University have created a theoretical design for use in a range of tiny needles radiating outwards from a central spoke. The designing is similar to a round hairbrush bends light around the object being cloaked and in this case one can see the background object but not the objects surrounded by cylindrical array of nano needles. Keep one thing in mind that the design can work just for the single wavelength and not for the whole frequency range of the visible spectrum. Objects could be rendered invisible in a wavelength of 632.8 nanometers corresponding to the red color. This design could also be used for cloaking other single wavelength in a visible spectrum. The device is expected to be created from non magnetic meta materials. So now get ready for invisible game. Via nanowerk

Nanocomposite films take inspiration from seashells

Posted on February 1, 2012 by admin

How about composite films inspired from mollusk shells? University of Michigan and Northwestern University researchers have created a high performance composite film which has been inspired from natural nanostructure of nacre. Let me tell you this is the strongest and toughest internal layer of mollusk shells and mussels. In this case layer by layer or LBL assembly technique has been used for preparing the nanostructured analogue from inorganic sheets of clay and polyelectrolyte. Here the properties and structure were found out to be similar to that of lamellar bones and natural nacre. Since it is a simple technique it produced better results for combining multiple functions in a single composite. Also in order to improve upon the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite a synthetic polymer was also developed by the researchers which retained the hardening and binding properties of protein based adhesive material which is secreted by mussels. Nature can inspire a thousand things and researchers have probably tried to gain the best out of it using nanotechnology. Via merid

Cell biology stands to benefit from Nanotechnology pipettes

Posted on January 31, 2012 by admin

Cell biology is set to gain from nanotechnology as researchers of College of Engineering have successfully created a carbon nanotube tipped pipette which can contribute towards study in DNA sequencing and organelle-targeted drug delivery. This is being considered an important development since now it would be possible to probe the fluid not only inside the cell but also in specific regions in the cells. Up till now there was a vacuum in the existing microscale technologies and nanoscale interactions but now it would be very much possible to transfer carbon nanotubes in and out of the pipette. Developed by Dr.Adam Fontecchio and Gennady Friedman it can help in enhancing in-situ DNA sequencing. Since with this pipette DNA can be examined inside the living cell therefore the tissue is neither damaged nor cultured. As it has tips which are smaller as compared to other cells therefore small quantities of drugs can be injected in certain regions organelles within a cell. Now the researchers are looking towards improving the pipette fabrication process for increasing the yield and demonstration of magnetic deflection of CNTs. Certainly an important development for cell biology. Via nanowerk

Nanopore channels can precisely detect DNA

Posted on January 31, 2012 by admin

Now one can easily detect specific sequences of DNA as Purdue researchers have found out that nanopore channels can emerge as an instrument for genomic applications in environmental monitoring, medicine and homeland security. Created using silicon, these channels are ten to twenty diameter in size and a few hundred nanometers long. This is for the first time that researchers have attached specific strands of DNA inside silicon based channels and used it for detection of specific DNA molecules found in liquid bath. Fabrication of channels was done in thin silicon membrane and bathed in fluids having DNA. Since DNA is charged negatively therefore application of voltage across membrane caused the genetic material in bath to flow through the channel. As a result the single strands of DNA flowed faster and were transported in high numbers across the pores. Detection of translocation of specific types of DNA strands can be measured with electrical current across the channel and as a result specific signature pulses can be measured due to specific DNA movement. This will certainly help scientists involved in the study of DNA. Via nanotechwire

Nanoentonography can safeguard art against counterfeiting

Posted on January 31, 2012 by admin

Counterfeiting can be really disastrous and it is responsible for millions of dollars of losses world wide each year. Now nanotechnology will be taking care of fake art pieces in the world of art. At times it becomes really difficult to figure out whether it is a genuine or a fake product by some of the best experts too. Now nanoentonography will take care of the trouble as this process can protect brands and products from counterfeiting. In this case microscopic layers of covert markers are incorporated for creating brand owner specific information into products. As of now there are eight different layers of security which can be applied to the covert markers which are mere microns wide. This makes it really difficult to duplicate the product since it offers fool proof coding. This process has been developed by ARmark Authentication Technologies for using it across a wide range of brand owner applications. It can be used across a number of sectors such as food, apparel, pharma, documents and currency and lot more. Now get ready to say goodbye to fake products. Via nanowerk

Go vroom with nanotechnology powered motorcycle

Posted on January 30, 2012 by admin

For all those speed freaks who want to live life in the fast lane, here is a nanotechnology battery powered motorcycle which can reach 0 to 60 mph in just under 1.5 seconds. This is KillaCycle which regarded as the quickest electric motorcycle in the world and this time it created a speed record with the help of lithium-ion batteries developed using highly active nanoscale materials. Bill Dube, Designer, Builder and Owner of The KillaCycle had to say something on the nanotechnology propelled bike: We continue to be thrilled with the superior performance of these cells, which we first started using last year. The improvements we’ve made to the bike in the past three months paid off and we improved our time by over 0.6 seconds, a huge performance increase in such a short time. With these batteries, we know that we will be able to continue to improve our performance and establish new records. These lithium ion batteries created using nanophosphate cells offer enhanced performance, life and safety. With KillaCycke nanotechnology has proved that how batteries could enable automotive applications to experience a higher level of battery performance. Via nanowerk

India develops worlds first nanotechnology based water filter

Posted on January 30, 2012 by admin

Indians too are realizing the benefits of nanotechnology. Researchers at IIT Madras have developed a water purifier which uses nanotechnology. This can be regarded as the world’s first nanoparticle based water filter. This water purifier will be launched by Eureka Forbes in the market and cleans pesticide from the water by using metal nanoparticles. Department of Science and Technology had funded this project and in a country where water quality is quite poor it should work as a blessing in disguise. With the water purifier hitting the market soon it is expected that there would lesser water contamination diseases in the country. I was just wondering will this technology only reach the rich or efforts would be made for bringing it to the masses. I believe the benefits should also reach the poor who don’t have access to quality water and this will surely help in improving the health standards in the country and also bring down the death rate as a result. Via businessline

Nanotechnology offers effective insulation for fridges coupled with reduced costs

Posted on January 29, 2012 by admin

Nano materials are emerging as popular insulation material since they are an improvement over the traditional insulation materials and even cost less. Now nanotechnology is being used in the arena of refrigeration as an insulating material and this can help in bringing down the energy consumption of refrigerators by as much as twenty percent. A micro thickness film called Nanoskin has been developed by General Applications and it offers a thermal protection layer by using small cells consisting of vacuum. This film will be embedded in the inner wall of the fridge during the manufacturing process for offering effective layer of insulation. This has resulted in strong interest among a number of companies and a number of European fridge manufacturers are willing to apply this technology to their fridges. It looks like this film will replace the traditional insulating material due to the advantages it offers and the obviously the cost factor too. Via acr-news

Pennsylvania University’s physicist uses new technology to develop nanodevices

Posted on January 29, 2012 by admin

Now, Physicists of the University of Pennsylvania are developing nanostructure metal, not more than 10 nanometers. Physicists at the University of Pennsylvania are using a new technique to craft some of the tiniest metal nanostructures ever created, none larger than 10 nanometers. They are using new technology to create nanostructure metal. The technology uses transmission electron beam ablation lithography or TEBAL to carve nanostructures from thin sheets of gold, silver, silver, aluminum and other metals. Drndić and Michael Fischbein of Penn’s Department of Physics in the School of Arts and Sciences has conducted the study. TEBAL provides reliable method to produce quality version of these microscopic devices, which are studied for their novel mechanical properties and it can be used in next generation sensors and electronics. The method allows real time imaging of the devices as they are made. Traditional techniques, which are used for building nanodevices requires electron beam lithography and also require the use of polymers and chemicals, in which meatl can be evaporated. In addition, the TEBAL method also creates a resistance free connection between the nanostructure and an electrical lead, which can provide power to the device. Additionally, structures made from bottom-up techniques need to be firstly placed on a chip and then connected to larger circuitry. The team uses the superior control of the electron beam to reproduce multiple, which is similar copies of each structure. The research may lead to computer-based creation of such devices with more intricacy. Penn physicists has also proposed a rapid method of DNA sequencing, which can be developed from this process, by threading DNA strands through an electronic “nanoport” that could read the base pairs that constitute a species’ genetic code. Image Credit: ND Edu Via: Physorg

Metal putty and cleaner cement can be manufactured with nanotechnology

Posted on January 28, 2012 by admin

Researchers while assembling metal particles have developed a metallic material which can be molded into putty and then hardened like pottery. It can also help in bringing down the carbon dioxide emissions produced during the manufacturing stage. Researchers at MIT have found that it is the packing density and not the chemical nature of C-S-H nanoparticles which gives properties to cement. Substituting it with another material can eliminate the need of hot kiln firing which leads to pollution. Magnesium can serve as a replacement for calcium. Researchers have developed a chemical scheme in which case the nanoparticles are self assembled into putty like material which can be molded into another any shape. When heated at fifty degrees it gets hardened like pottery and does not even produce any carbon dioxide. This has opened up the opportunity for producing new metallic electrically conducting materials which can be used for a number of purposes. Image Via: usatoday