A mixture of diamond nanoparticles and mineral oil easily outperforms other types of fluid created for heat-transfer applications, according to new research. Scientists mixed very low concentrations of diamond particles (about 6 nanometers in diameter) with mineral oil to test the nanofluid's thermal conductivity and how temperature would affect its viscosity. They found it to be much better than nanofluids...
Scientists have managed to create artificial nanostructures called metamaterials that can 'bend light.' But the challenge has been making enough of the material to turn invisibility cloaks into a practical reality. New research, however, may have just cracked that barrier. ...
Objects with sizes in the nanometer range, such as the molecular building blocks of living cells or nanotechnological devices, are continuously exposed to random collisions with surrounding molecules. In such fluctuating environments the fundamental laws of thermodynamics that govern our macroscopic world need to be rewritten. Scientists found that a nanoparticle trapped with laser light temporarily...
The semiconductor silicon lies at the heart of the current revolution in electronics and computing. In particular, it can produce compact integrated circuits when processed by modern techniques capable of fabricating structures just a few nanometers in size. ...
Ferroelectric materials have an intrinsic electrical polarization caused by a small shift in the position of some of their atoms that occurs below a critical point called the Curie temperature. This polarization can be switched by an external electric field, an effect exploited in some computer memory devices. ...
Engineers have demonstrated that it is possible to generate nanostructures from silk in an environmentally friendly process that uses water as a developing agent and standard fabrication techniques. This approach provides a green alternative to the toxic materials commonly used in nanofabrication while delivering fabrication quality comparable to conventional synthetic polymers. Nanofabrication is...
Scientists have discovered a way to measure the effective density of engineered nanoparticles in physiological fluids, making it possible to determine the amount of nanomaterials that come into contact with cells and tissue in culture. ...
With DESY's X-ray light source PETRA III, scientists have observed the growth of nanoparticles live. The study shows how tungsten oxide nanoparticles are forming from solution. These particles are used for example for smart windows, which become opaque at the flick of a switch, and they are also used in particular solar cells. ...
Scientists have made the first 3-D observations of how the structure of a lithium-ion battery anode evolves at the nanoscale in a real battery cell as it discharges and recharges. The details of this research could point to new ways to engineer battery materials to increase the capacity and lifetime of rechargeable batteries. ...
Scientists suggest that the fossil impact humans have made on the planet is vast and unprecedented in nature -- and that there's been nothing remotely like it since the Earth formed, over four and half billion years ago. The researchers argue that, like dinosaurs, who left their bones and footprints behind for future generations to discover, humans will also leave a footprint behind -- one made up...
Plasma medicine is a new and rapidly developing area of medical technology. Specifically, understanding the interaction of so-called atmospheric pressure plasma jets with biological tissues could help in medical practice. Researchers have conducted a study of the different types of DNA damage induced by atmospheric pressure plasma exposure. This approach, they hope, could ultimately lead to devising...
Nanotechnology is advancing tools that perform on-the-spot chemical analysis for a range of applications including medical testing, explosives detection and food safety. When paper used to collect a sample was coated with carbon nanotubes, the voltage required was 1,000 times reduced, the signal was sharpened and the equipment was able to capture far more delicate molecules. ...
Materials science researchers have demonstrated that vertically aligned carbon nanofibers can be manufactured using ambient air, making the manufacturing process safer and less expensive. Vertically aligned carbon nanofibers hold promise for use in gene-delivery tools, sensors, batteries and other technologies. ...
Nanoparticles have a great deal of potential in medicine: for diagnostics, as a vehicle for active substances or a tool to kill off tumors using heat. Researchers have now developed particles that are relatively easy to produce and have a wide range of applications. ...
Researchers have achieved new levels of performance for seed-free and substrate-free arrays of nanowires from class of materials called III-V directly on graphene. These compound semiconductors hold particular promise for applications involving light, such as solar cells or lasers. ...
World around researchers are working to develop nano-optical chips, where light can be controlled. These could be used for future circuits based on light (photons) instead of electrons -- that is photonics instead of electronics. But it has proved to be impossible to achieve perfect photonic nanostructures. Now researchers have shown that imperfect optical chips can be used to produce 'nanolasers',...
Inspired by natural materials such as bone -- a matrix of minerals and other substances, including living cells -- engineers have coaxed bacterial cells to produce biofilms that can incorporate nonliving materials, such as gold nanoparticles and quantum dots. These "living materials" combine the advantages of live cells, which respond to their environment, produce complex biological molecules, and...
Unique patterns made from tiny, randomly scattered silver nanowires have been created by a group of researchers from South Korea in an attempt to authenticate goods and tackle the growing problem of counterfeiting. ...
A research study has discovered that nanometric-size foam structures follow the same universal laws as does soap lather: small bubbles disappear in favor of the larger ones. Scientists reached this conclusion after producing and characterizing nanofoam formed by ion radiation on a silicon surface. ...
Scientists have discovered a potential way to make graphene -- a single layer of carbon atoms with great promise for future electronics -- superconducting, a state in which it would carry electricity with 100 percent efficiency. ...