tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62973785629570229532024-03-05T02:05:44.383-08:00nanoworld...News & productsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-84462921635429144122007-12-09T22:42:00.000-08:002007-12-09T22:44:53.993-08:00No chip trick, but an electrifying find !!!THE multimilliondollar industry of semiconductors could be usurped by a relative<br />unknown called graphene.<br /><br />That is, if the team headed by Associate Professor Loh Kian Ping, 39, can find<br />cheap methods to synthesise this material in bulk. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms, one-million times thinner than a strand of human hair.<br /><br />With properties not found in conventional semiconductors, graphene's electrons are extremely light and fast- moving compared with silicon and do not scatter. This will allow for faster, cheaper chips packing much more information into electronic devices.<br /><br /><div align="justify"><br />'Graphene behaves like it's weightless so it can travel much faster than ordinary conductors, at one million meters per second. Light is only 300 times faster,' said Prof Loh, who is deputy head of the National University of Singapore's chemistry department. Little is known of this new material.</div><div align="justify"><br />Even graphene's basic properties have yet to be studied. But the team is optimistic about making transistors and solar devices with it. 'If we can make graphene on a large scale in wafer size, cheaply and at high quality, this will be superior to silicon chips,' said Prof Loh.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-51777127823303660682007-12-06T17:30:00.000-08:002007-12-06T17:31:41.654-08:00Indian nanotech initiative<div align="justify">India's national nanotechnology program is rolling out as the first of three Institutes for Nano Science and Technology is inaugurated under the federal government's $250 million national initiative in support of nanotechnological research. The regional government of Karnataka partner with the government in the establishment of the first institute, eager to promote Bengaluru a global hub for nanotechnology as in the past it has promoted it as a software hub.<br />The nanotechnological institutes will also develop products and technologies, spreading interest in nanotechnology by establishing laboratories in universities in hopes of developing the manpower in this field that is now in such short supply. Other efforts include a major program using nanotechnology to improve photovoltaics' performance, special emphasis is likely to be given to the development of nanosensors.<br />India has drawn up a five-year plan expected to make the country a hub for nanoscience and nanotechnology and has appointed a vision group headed by C.N.R. Rao, an international authority on nanotechnology, the chairman of the Science Advisory Council to the prime minister of India and the one whose leadership is expected to drive current plans.<br />Rao's work on nanotubes, through which junction nanotubes were developed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNASCR), Bengaluru, found even earlier application in IBM's efforts to design the world's smallest transistor. JNASCR, the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, currently lead the country's efforts in nanotechnology.<br />"India is lagging behind the U.S. and Japan, where annually a couple of billion dollars are invested in nanotechnology research and development. Even China has a head start and is putting in a few hundreds of millions of dollars into its nanotechnology efforts," Rao said.<br />"We can catch up if we start working from now on, but we will not be able to match their efforts if we do not do much work on this front in the next couple of years. India has missed many a technology bus, but we should not miss this one," he added.<br />The first national nanotechnology-related event, called Bangalore Nano, will begin Thursday, December 6, said M.N. Vidyashankar, secretary of the department of information technology of the Karnataka government. Substantial delegations from Japan, Germany and Australia will participate in this first annual event.<br />The European Union, a partner in Bangalore Nano, has already pledged itself to joint R&D with India in nanotechnology and has set apart a fund of about $15 million for projects set to start as soon as next year.<br />Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia plans a multibillion "Nanocity" in Chandigarh, northern India, envisioned as another Silicon Valley, and investments of $300 million have already been funneled into the project. In the U.S., a number of Indian Americans have recently formed the Indus Nanotechnology Association, hoping to provide a common platform for researchers, entrepreneurs, technologists and investors of Indian origin seeking to leverage the emerging nanotechnology industry. --></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-40474315236128193712007-11-22T17:57:00.000-08:002007-11-22T18:01:39.161-08:00Wired for sun<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWGZzACwa8XQzTZrKE7QtKMN9xul1CzK3yLM5Fyx7XiDBDYA8mNeKZgr8YFLSqDdZ7BClf4cPG0NwBtT2E4lfM6XsKUUcSyW_QoKPmoc5UynowCYgHvaLYYkEVJhokjuePDDUdzcTTVE5/s1600-h/Picture1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135850117005945938" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWGZzACwa8XQzTZrKE7QtKMN9xul1CzK3yLM5Fyx7XiDBDYA8mNeKZgr8YFLSqDdZ7BClf4cPG0NwBtT2E4lfM6XsKUUcSyW_QoKPmoc5UynowCYgHvaLYYkEVJhokjuePDDUdzcTTVE5/s320/Picture1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify">A new device based on coaxial silicon nanowires shows potential as a tiny photovoltaic element for use in solar cells and in nanoelectronic power sources. The nanowire is made of silicon with three different types of conductivity arranged as coaxial shells. Incoming light generates electrons in the outer n-type shell, whilst their positive holes are swept into a central 'p-type' layer. Current drawn from the photovoltaic nanowire can be used to power nanoelectronic sensors and logic gates.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />Source Nature Letter: Coaxial silicon nanowires as solar cells and nanoelectronic power sources<br />Bozhi Tian, Xiaolin Zheng, Thomas J. Kempa, Ying Fang, Nanfang Yu, Guihua Yu, Jinlin Huang & Charles M. Lieber<br />doi:10.1038/nature06181</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-23030065994716007842007-11-14T01:51:00.000-08:002007-11-14T01:57:13.113-08:00nanotube for cancer cure !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKl5dDk4ax_IXCq9MG3Vv8gyKCmcZOlBaf-KN1kH6PcZlsSVsF6_Ehg7T90eHyHY-E83zXV2gMSuelmYI36rzU9A6fppo0DJIpKXN_JOZYMNJ3yJ6RS_6tiNTFrLPXqFgVGQ_I16VTJCyM/s1600-h/nanotube.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132632879087584866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKl5dDk4ax_IXCq9MG3Vv8gyKCmcZOlBaf-KN1kH6PcZlsSVsF6_Ehg7T90eHyHY-E83zXV2gMSuelmYI36rzU9A6fppo0DJIpKXN_JOZYMNJ3yJ6RS_6tiNTFrLPXqFgVGQ_I16VTJCyM/s320/nanotube.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Radio waves turn injected carbon into heat bombs against tumours.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Cancer cells can be destroyed from within, by injecting them with nanotubes and then zapping the tubes with radio-frequency waves. </div><br /><div>Steven Curley at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and his colleagues have taken the first step in proving the technique by injecting carbon nanotubes into liver tumour cells in rabbits, then heating up the carbon with radio waves to kill the cancerous cells. Similar work has been done in cultured cells, but this is the first time that the technique has been used in tumours in live animals. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div align="justify">Researchers are keen to find a form of radiotherapy that is more selective than those currently used on in cancer treatment, as the high-energy radiation also kills off some innocent cells, causing hair loss and other more serious symptoms.<br />One way to do this is to find a material that reacts to a frequency of radiation that leaves the rest of the body alone. If this material is embedded in cancerous cells, then only the cancerous cells would be targeted. Carbon nanotubes have been used before because, unusually, they can absorb near-infrared radiation, which penetrates human tissue without causing damage.<br />But near-infrared can only penetrate the top four centimetres of tissue or so, making deeper cancers impossible to reach. Radio waves don't have this issue. “Radio waves pass through us with no problems,” says Curley.<br />The work, published online in Cancer <a href="http://www.nature.com.ejproxy.a-star.edu.sg/news/2007/071105/full/news.2007.218.html#B1" minmax_bound="true">1</a>, was started by Richard Smalley of Rice University in Houston, Texas, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his co-discovery of clusters of 60 carbon atoms, called C60. (Nanotubes are tubes of carbon wrapped up between two caps made of half a C60 sphere each.) Smalley died from cancer in 2005.<br />Too hot to handle<br />The researchers first injected a solution of carbon nanotubes into a liver tumour in a rabbit, and fired radio waves at the site for two minutes. This killed the cancer cells with nanotubes inside them, and the radio waves caused just a small amount of damage to some close-by, healthy cells.<br />The work is intriguing, says Hongjie Dai, from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, who is using near-infrared radiation with nanotubes in similar systems in mice. “If indeed effective, it would be more desirable than the near-infrared laser heating method,” he says.<br />But Dai says that the reasons why the nanotubes get so hot need more investigation before the system can be advanced. “The physics behind the radio-frequency heating is not clear,” he says.<br />In test experiments, a suspension of nanotubes in water got as hot as 45ºC within 25 seconds when treated with radiofrequency waves. “I was really amazed by the amount of heat that was released by these nanoparticles,” says Curley.<br />He attributes the phenomenon to the “unique electronic properties” of carbon nanotubes. It might also be that the tubes align themselves into antennae-shaped arrangements to conduct heat better. Curley says that he has as-yet-unpublished evidence to better explain his findings. </div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">Gannon, C. J. et al. Cancer doi: 10.1002/cncr.23155 (2007). </div><br /><div align="justify">Source : Published online 5 November 2007 Nature doi:10.1038/news.2007.218</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-3516753323524455732007-10-29T19:26:00.000-07:002007-10-29T19:28:26.341-07:00Gold nanoparticles<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-1KP73o7fswswQLhM3EADa-FOr-iggU3cnOIlrv6Jk441pRfkMa-oR7EQdn-4JhVvTPDQdvJKNVGLVVMPvLQ3LHYe2zrzXpCia3FxvHMCOMRJzBxtrJfIEFd-EmGhAoJ_1DlFhkN4I4ce/s1600-h/goldbar.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126950952722661074" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-1KP73o7fswswQLhM3EADa-FOr-iggU3cnOIlrv6Jk441pRfkMa-oR7EQdn-4JhVvTPDQdvJKNVGLVVMPvLQ3LHYe2zrzXpCia3FxvHMCOMRJzBxtrJfIEFd-EmGhAoJ_1DlFhkN4I4ce/s320/goldbar.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Nanoparticles are set to lose their air of mystery: the structure of a widely used class of gold nanoparticle has been unambiguously determined, and the structures of other nanoparticles could soon follow. The structure reveals that the molecules grown on the surface of the gold nanoparticles don’t behave quite as they were thought to.<br />Gold metallic nanoparticles are commonly used in the lab as a tracer, to detect the presence of specific proteins or DNA in a sample, for example. Such nanoparticles have proved to be adaptable, and so very useful.<br />Surprisingly, no one had a clear idea what these particles looked like — perhaps they were colloidal, with a lumpy, messy range of shapes and sizes; or maybe they were discrete molecules of uniform size and structure. "Exactly what the structure was, remained kind of murky," says nanoparticle expert Ralph Nuzzo from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who was not involved with this work.<br />Researchers have now succeeded in making a crystal structure of gold nanoparticles, and imaging this crystal to see inside the particles themselves and unpick their structure. The result settles some mysteries, and should also make the nanoparticles even easier to adapt and use.<br />Stuck together<br />Gold is used for nanoparticle applications because it is unreactive and isn’t sensitive to air or light. But gold does like to form bonds with itself. So to make sure the particles don’t clump together, their surfaces have to be covered with a layer of protective molecules. Sulphur is one of a few elements that gold happily bonds with, so sulphur-containing groups are often used for this protective coating.<br />These sulphur groups can also be functionalized — given extra bits such as binding sites or fluorescent markers, for example, that can be picked up by a microscope. This turns the nanoparticles into tracers.<br />Roger Kornberg at Stanford University, California, and his team investigated the chemistry of such particles by creating a crystal of them — a huge achievement in itself — that could be investigated using X-ray crystallography. The particles they investigated consist of 102 gold atoms arranged in a ball and covered on the surface by a one-molecule-thick layer of 44 sulphur-containing molecules.<br />A clear, three-dimensional picture of the structure of this monster molecule, reported in Science <a href="http://www.nature.com.ejproxy.a-star.edu.sg/news/2007/071018/full/news.2007.178.html#B1" minmax_bound="true">1</a>, reveals that atoms in the core of this nanoparticle are arranged similarly to those in bulk gold, as expected. But this 'grand core' is then surrounded by two caps, each with 15 slightly twisted gold atoms.<br />And the sulphur groups, rather than binding directly to the gold surface as predicted in some models, forms an alliance with the outermost shell of gold, which then interacts weakly with the grand core. In addition to that, the nanoparticle is chiral — it has a handedness — introduced by the arrangement of the gold atoms with the sulphur groups.<br />Off the shelf<br />"Chemists and nanoscientists have worked for years with metal-rich gold cluster thiolates, without any unambiguous evidence of their structure," says Robert Whetten of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. This new structure changes everything, he says. "Chemists treat something very differently when it is a substance that has a determined composition and structure. It can be handled, and bought and sold just like any other speciality chemical off the shelf."<br />This knowledge might eventually help to remove the suspicion that surrounds nanoparticles and their toxicity, researchers add. Knowing the structure of a molecule means researchers can better understand how it reacts.<br />"It means we have the potential to understand nanoparticles, to understand the chemistry on their surfaces," says Simon Billinge, part of the National Science Foundation-funded Nanoscale Interdisiplinary Research Team, based at Michigan State University, East Lansing.<br />"This is precisely the kind of discovery that finds its way in to textbooks," says Whetten.<br />References<br /><a name="B1" minmax_bound="true"></a>Jadzinsky, P. D. et al. Science 318, 430-443 (2007). </div><br /><div>Published online 18 October 2007 Nature doi:10.1038/news.2007.178 </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-33134902856162902302007-10-17T18:03:00.000-07:002007-10-17T18:07:14.998-07:00nanoparticle necklace<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4nrEAnZCGjg2ISBF8o6-R8GnkfD4gdEXHOEGlaO8ZmcrrHBLfBDgkMMrFJbF-IFp4BbWHosAjw3qUH1KJZzQV865iZAKQ3C17ZTxQOcRW1FMUGqTaZRuhmuMyWWFn51JL6auTTGsG1w7/s1600-h/gold.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122477013295472146" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4nrEAnZCGjg2ISBF8o6-R8GnkfD4gdEXHOEGlaO8ZmcrrHBLfBDgkMMrFJbF-IFp4BbWHosAjw3qUH1KJZzQV865iZAKQ3C17ZTxQOcRW1FMUGqTaZRuhmuMyWWFn51JL6auTTGsG1w7/s320/gold.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Assembling nanoparticles in a controlled manner could lead to new nanodevices and materials. But how do you control where the linkages go?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div align="justify">Nanoparticles can potentially be used as giant artificial atoms that may be linked together to form new kinds of material. But whereas atoms tend to join together in particular geometric arrangements and with specific valences, depending on the nature of their electron shells, spherical nanoparticles on their own are more like simple balls that will stack like a greengrocer's oranges. Now researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to give metal nanocrystals a specific 'valency' and directional bonding preference.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div align="justify">Francesco Stellacci and his co-workers have made gold nanoparticles with molecular linker groups situated precisely at opposite poles. These can act as the 'monomer' units in linear, polymerized chains of nanoparticles. Previously it has been very difficult to exert any control over precisely where on the particle surface such linker groups might become attached, or how many of them will bind.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />Earlier attempts to give nanoparticles a valency have been restricted to supplying them with a single binding site: a valency of 1. For example, Joseph Jacobson and co-workers, also at MIT, attached a single reactive ligand to gold nanoparticles by bonding them via amide linkages to the beads of a resin used for solid-phase peptide synthesis; the single linkage is enforced by the limited area accessible on each resin bead. But for nanoparticles that can be 'polymerized', at least two reactive groups per particle are needed.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />Stellacci and colleagues have achieved this by taking advantage of a topological constraint on molecules bound to the spherical nanoparticle surfaces. Long-chain alkylthiol molecules, which terminate in an –SH group, will bind to a gold surface via the sulphur atom to form self-assembled monolayers in which the organic molecules are arrayed in an orderly fashion like the threads of a carpet, all with the same tilt angle. On a curved surface, however, it is simply not possible for all the molecules to have the same tilt: there are inevitably 'point defects', where a single molecule has an anomalous tilt. These are analogous to the whorls of hair on the back of one's head.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />Specifically, for a spherical surface there must be precisely two such defects. Stellacci and colleagues found that they could ensure the defects form at diametrically opposed poles on a thiol-coated gold nanoparticle if they used a mixture of two different thiols. Previously, Stellacci and his co-workers observed that such mixed monolayers will segregate into alternating rings of the two thiols, visible in a scanning tunnelling microscope as ripples<a href="http://www.nature.com.ejproxy.a-star.edu.sg/materials/nanozone/news/070125/portal/m070125-2.html#b3" minmax_bound="true">3</a>. The researchers reasoned that the rings would force the defects to become situated at the two poles, which creates minimal disruption of the ripple pattern.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />Because they have a different tilt, the lone molecules at the point defects are less stabilized by interactions with their neighbours than are the other molecules in the monolayer that coats a nanoparticle. This means that they will be the most susceptible to displacement in a ligand-exchange process. To see if their hypothesis was valid, the MIT team covered gold nanoparticles with a mixed thiol monolayer and then exposed them to sulphur-terminated ligands that had carboxylic acid groups at the other end (11-mercaptoundecanoic acid, MUA). Exchange of thiols for MUA introduced a reactive group, which could be used as a linker between nanoparticles, for example via diamine molecules, to which carboxylic acids stick at each end in a reaction equivalent to that used in nylon synthesis.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />If precisely two MUA molecules were appended to each nanoparticle at opposite poles, as planned, then this reaction would give linear chains of particles. That was just what the researchers observed. If, on the other hand, the MUA molecules had inserted themselves at random into the monolayer coating, the reaction would have linked the nanoparticles into dense three-dimensional aggregates. They found further confirmation that the particles were being joined into chains by the molecular linkers by observing how the average separation between particles varied with the length of the linkers. Stellacci and colleagues estimated that only one MUA molecule per 100 nanoparticles was likely to attach itself somewhere other than at the ‘poles’ defined by point defects.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />They found that the nanoparticle chains aggregated at the interface of an aqueous and an organic solvent to form robust films, presumably by entanglement. Unlike individual chains, these films are rather insoluble, and can be considered comparable to the way ordinary polymers will often precipitate from solution when the molecular chains get entwined. Thus, the divalent nanoparticles are already showing promise as the fabric of new types of material.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">Source : 25 January 2007 nanozone news nature publication.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-21056968616062169772007-10-11T18:38:00.000-07:002007-10-11T18:43:00.267-07:00mineral market tremors<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFyjSRI-HOLl6TJSBKCbXsqEIbs-CvcLcdBj43vpeLirXMPitEwYGsr0we0ZZyN65CRSf4d3_mc59CrH59QCc8-NbKvmejHeXJ3F7ALm8TEB4wBc_-U588pT_ZJz9qQSuz_-aik1_KO6D/s1600-h/449648b-i1.0"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120259049234144770" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFyjSRI-HOLl6TJSBKCbXsqEIbs-CvcLcdBj43vpeLirXMPitEwYGsr0we0ZZyN65CRSf4d3_mc59CrH59QCc8-NbKvmejHeXJ3F7ALm8TEB4wBc_-U588pT_ZJz9qQSuz_-aik1_KO6D/s320/449648b-i1.0" border="0" /></a> <div><div>Need for an agency to track markets for minerals that are critical components of industrial products, says a panel of the National Academies.</div><div> </div><div>And mineral markets have been rocked by wild price swings: in late 2002, for example, the price of indium — used in flat-panel displays — hit a historic low of $60 per kilogram. In 2005, the price reached $1,000 per kilogram (see Nature 449, 131; 2007).</div><div> </div><div>Booming demand for minerals in India and China suggests that historical trends might be an unreliable guide for the next few decades.</div><div> </div><div>Source : Published online 10 October 2007 Nature 449, 648 (2007) doi:10.1038/449648b </div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-10932962501166846692007-10-11T18:31:00.000-07:002007-10-11T18:37:39.672-07:00Nobel Prize in Chemistry<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEaUMVBP0CJBRjfX53PGmjs_1MvIJsUQ0WnmG9BCF3vBsOpfHsuNNL8N0gVP0OmvXJmJRIf4uRO2QDT43EPnK2NSs8ZPy0SWwBvfaaZTLFCr19xGmnIwiMf6GRrDDXrvHj2C-pAKAjISk/s1600-h/gerhard_ertl.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120257520225787362" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEaUMVBP0CJBRjfX53PGmjs_1MvIJsUQ0WnmG9BCF3vBsOpfHsuNNL8N0gVP0OmvXJmJRIf4uRO2QDT43EPnK2NSs8ZPy0SWwBvfaaZTLFCr19xGmnIwiMf6GRrDDXrvHj2C-pAKAjISk/s320/gerhard_ertl.jpg" border="0" /></a> Studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces.<br /><br />Ertl’s research laid the groundwork for a science that allows us to understand processes ranging from the rusting of iron at the surface of our cars to the destruction of the ozone layer at the surface of ice crystals in the stratosphere. Ertl, who in 2004 retired as director of the Max Planck Society’s Fritz-Haber Institute in Berlin, said he was not expecting another Nobel to be awarded to a German after his countryman Peter Grünberg won the physics prize.<br /><br /><div align="justify">Surface insight<br />Ertl’s main impact was not in determining it was important to study surfaces (the growth of the semiconductor industry hammered that home), nor in developing instrumentation to study them. Rather he had the inspiration to see how various techniques already in use could be adapted and stitched together to provide a complete picture of how molecules behave at a surface. Such insights are crucial to understanding the action of catalysts – materials that speed up chemical reactions without being used up.<br />Ertl’s insights “provided the scientific basis of modern surface chemistry”, says the prize committee.<br />Perhaps the most impressive individual work undertaken by Ertl involved proving the exact mechanism of the Haber–Bosch process, a reaction vital to the chemical industry and the production of fertilizer. The process converts hydrogen and nitrogen into ammonia using an iron catalyst. Using a variety of spectroscopic techniques — which use the interaction of electromagnetic radiation (such as light) with materials to determine the properties of surface molecules — Ertl uncovered how and when the strong nitrogen bond is broken during this process, proving which of many suggested mechanisms was correct. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-1759451492686373412007-10-05T01:51:00.000-07:002007-10-05T01:54:43.094-07:00Handheld hydrogen sensorHY-OPTIMA handheld model 500 and the HY-ALERTA in-line model 700 are two modles of hydrogen sensors from H2SCAN.<br /><br />These next generation sensors are the first to provide accurate real time measures in extreme conditions, including condensed water environments, the presence of CO and sulfur, and in process streams up to 125 degrees Celcius. "The ability to perform in these harsh environments meets industry’s need for accurate monitoring of fuel cell, petrochemical, hydrogen production, transformer oil and nuclear waste operations," explained Dennis Reid, president and CEO of H2scan.<br /><br /><div align="justify">The new products are based on H2scan’s proprietary "chip on a flex" technology. Solid state and originally developed by Sandia National Laboratories, the sensing element of both models 500 (handheld) and 700 (in-line) is state of the art. It utilizes a palladium nickel capacitor for lower threshold measurements to 15PPM and a palladium nickel resistor for measurements from 5000PPM to 100 percent. A nickel temperature sensor allows the in-line model to operate in process streams up to 125 degrees Celcius.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">The new product line also has a membrane and coating over the sensor die that allows hydrogen to penetrate, but keeps all moisture, CO, Sulfur and other gases from penetrating to the sensor die.Like the models it replace – H2scan’s Portable Hand Held and 11320019 In-line Real-Time Process Monitor – the HY-OPTIMA 500 AND HY-ALERTA 700 accurately monitor H2 levels against virtually any background gases without the need for expensive support equipment, and can operate in the absence of oxygen and in a wide-range of ambient temperatures.H2scan fully expects the new products to become the industry standard. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">H2Scan sensor systems provide critical real-time functions in both friendly and harsh environments with standard or custom-designed attributes for numerous, multi-billion dollar hydrogen-sensitive applications. This includes process control systems, safety monitoring and alarm systems and includes portable, hand-held configurations for leak detection and monitoring.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">source : <a href="http://www.h2scan.com/">www.h2scan.com</a>. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-26790274934528902362007-10-03T22:23:00.001-07:002007-10-03T22:29:16.771-07:00Medical implant !!!! the nanotech shows the way<div align="justify">There is a huge demand for medical implants for almost every body part you can think of. As we have reported here before, the market for medical implant devices in the U.S. alone is estimated to be $23 billion per year and it is expected to grow by about 10% annually for the next few years. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization therapy devices, pacemakers, tissue and spinal orthopedic implants, hip replacements, phakic intraocular lenses and cosmetic implants will be among the top sellers. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Current medical implants, such as orthopedic implants and heart valves, are made of titanium and stainless steel alloys, primarily because they are biocompatible. Unfortunately, in many cases these metal alloys with a life span of 10-15 years may wear out within the lifetime of the patient. With recent advances in industrial synthesis of diamond and diamond-like carbon film bringing prices down significantly, researchers are increasingly experimenting with diamond coatings for medical implants. On the upside, the wear resistance of diamond is dramatically superior to titanium and stainless steel. On the downside, because it attracts coagulating proteins, its blood clotting response is slightly worse than these materials and the possibility has been raised that nanostructured surface features of diamond might abrade tissue. That's not something you necessarily want to have in your artificial knee or hip joints (although some of the currently used implant materials cause problems as well).</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-87330111096735633402007-10-03T18:05:00.000-07:002007-10-03T18:10:52.502-07:00The older nano !!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hbvX9F_mlizAXeo6ps_SujuwB4-DVRqe-4mp3ine19uVhe_NOp72N_R2N6J7TlYz1m5eDeLId30mjS3lDQktRANJZuLCYQBNianlM2PR6OiAQ-KOHlTUfgVUSg_8beZWr6OBsaufR6Fa/s1600-h/nano2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117282540332714882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hbvX9F_mlizAXeo6ps_SujuwB4-DVRqe-4mp3ine19uVhe_NOp72N_R2N6J7TlYz1m5eDeLId30mjS3lDQktRANJZuLCYQBNianlM2PR6OiAQ-KOHlTUfgVUSg_8beZWr6OBsaufR6Fa/s320/nano2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Pictured is an example of the strange, often spiral shaped objects found in the eastern Urals (dated to 100,000 years old). Often microscopically small they are made principally of tungsten, molybdenum, and copper. They were discovered during the course of official explorations that had been mounted with a view to exploiting the precious metals in the region. These objects are extraterrestrial in origin. Rather we think their origin is very terrestrial</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-39734735523220237822007-10-01T18:08:00.000-07:002007-10-01T18:14:54.070-07:00The death……….is that predetermined !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoDyE5CAVlQnI98LADnYCQA1zc5qNJ_mp3lC94NaIJBqksDIwawW40gwOePc8EobLKqXLMB876OhHJ3ALR9ZZedkiTOY1xJBNQr1pcrOIcd3Ec9m_fUFo8bSv6Ski736N5Ns4UeTAcGx_/s1600-h/449515a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116540971279387490" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoDyE5CAVlQnI98LADnYCQA1zc5qNJ_mp3lC94NaIJBqksDIwawW40gwOePc8EobLKqXLMB876OhHJ3ALR9ZZedkiTOY1xJBNQr1pcrOIcd3Ec9m_fUFo8bSv6Ski736N5Ns4UeTAcGx_/s320/449515a.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="justify">Minimum telomere length defined for healthy cells<a name="abstract" xmlns=""></a></div><div align="justify">Mechanism for chromosome corruption also revealed.</div><br /><br /><br />What is a telimopre : <em>Its the length between the regions of repeating DNA that protect the ends of chromosomes.</em><br /><em></em><br /><br /><div align="justify">Now, Duncan Baird of the University of Cardiff, UK, and his colleagues have found the shortest length telomeres can reach before they cause fusion.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify">A cell's lifespan depends on the length of its telomeres — the regions of repeating DNA that protect the ends of chromosomes. Every time a cell divides, its telomeres get shorter until they become unstable and cause chromosomes to fuse together. These fusions can make the chromosomes break when cells divide, leading to cell death or triggering genomic rearrangements associated with the early stages of cancer. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-7173995496128983912007-09-30T18:03:00.000-07:002007-09-30T18:09:43.999-07:00Bio compatible ---a chalengeDevelopment of experimental processes for the synthesis of biocompatible surfaces that would induce and support mineral growth is important not only from a fundamental point of view but also in biomedical applications such as bone implants/grafting in bone surgery and manufacture of artificial tissues. Calcium phosphate and carbonate minerals are classified as bioactive ceramics and have been widely used for the reconstruction of bone defects.<br /><br /><br />In bone implant applications, inorganic composites, mainly made of hydroxyapatite ceramics, have attracted a geat deal of attention due to their excellent biocompatibility and bioaffinity<br />However, there are critical limitations in applying the hydroxyapatites to real systems because of its poor mechanical properties, such as strength and fracture toughness. Consequently, the<br />use of porous hydroxyapatite has been restricted to the powders, granules, and non-load-bearing small parts.<br /><br /><br />Membranes of gold nanoparticles in a polymeric background for mineral growth :<br /><br />The first is that polymeric membranes would be simple to handle and sculpt to the desired shape and size. The second is that the chemistry pertaining to surface modification of gold nanoparticles is very well understood.<br /><br />Chem. Mater., 16 (6), 988 -993, 2004.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-23751780102933754582007-09-26T19:24:00.000-07:002007-09-26T19:28:57.393-07:00Tiny generator !!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIZIZsDeoVhCriDtF0w07m8oT3BFWHJ5kVOetFRJreytHwzUFaIcSsu82EwBZX_zGWTSmy4lS9eINWdXMJGH2ViWNJcf05HDvMQbpabgLTccmSYzPBPqudc5I86WqoYBEVwBzI6Cw7tnh/s1600-h/txl87741web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114705289372175186" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIZIZsDeoVhCriDtF0w07m8oT3BFWHJ5kVOetFRJreytHwzUFaIcSsu82EwBZX_zGWTSmy4lS9eINWdXMJGH2ViWNJcf05HDvMQbpabgLTccmSYzPBPqudc5I86WqoYBEVwBzI6Cw7tnh/s320/txl87741web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>A scientist has developed a nanogenerator that can produce a continuous flow of electricity from ultrasonic waves or even blood flow....</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div>Tiny generator to harvest mechanical energy from its surroundings---“A major step toward a portable, adaptable and cost-effective technology for powering nanoscale devices,” </div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div></div><div>There has been a lot of interest in making nanodevices, but how to power them. nogenerator allows us to harvest or recycle energy from many sources to power these devices.” </div><br /><div><br /></div><div></div><div> </div><br /><div align="justify">The nanogenerator takes advantage of the unique coupled piezoelectric and semiconducting properties of zinc oxide nanostructures, which produce small electrical charges when they are flexed. By capturing the output of large numbers of nanowires in motion, the nanogenerator produces a miniscule direct current output. Wang and his group members expect that their nanogenerator could produce as much as 4 watts per cubic centimeter - based on a calculation for a single nanowire. That would be enough to power a broad range of nanometer-scale defense, environmental and biomedical applications, including biosensors implanted in the body, environmental monitors - and even nanoscale robots.However, before they can do that, the team needs to optimise the development process. “We need to be able to better control the growth, density and uniformity of the wires,” Wang said. “We believe we can make as many as millions or even billions of nanowires produce current simultaneously. That will allow us to optimize operation of the nanogenerator.”</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">source : Georgia Tech researchers (Credit: Gary Meek/Georgia Tech) </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-52502449364431527522007-09-26T18:45:00.000-07:002007-09-26T18:51:19.525-07:00Nanoscale opticsOptical measurements at the nanometer scale require a light source with an illumination<br />spot in the nanometer range. For visible-light frequencies, where the wavelength<br />is a few hundred nanometers, conventional optical microscopy fails because the resolution is restricted to half the wavelength of the used light. To overcome this problem, the light must be localized in a spot with a diameter much smaller than the wavelength of the light. Ideally,<br />the spot should have nanometer-scale dimensions. This can be done by applying small apertures.<br /><br />The price for this high resolution is that the character of the light changes drastically when it propagates through the aperture.<br /><br />The localization of the light waves results in the formation of evanescent waves, which have an imaginary wave number and decay exponentially in space (in contrast to conventional light waves, which propagate freely). The intensity of an evanescent wave thus decays rapidly as the distance from the aperture increases. Therefore, the aperture has to be close to the object, often<br />only a fraction of the wavelength away. This is the regime of near-field optics.<br /><br /><br />Applications of optical microscopy are generally limited by the standard resolution limit set by the wavelength of visible light. The invention of near-field scanning optical microscopy<br />(NSOM) first enabled this limit to be overcome, opening up many systems, from physics to biology, to investigation by optical microscopy. NSOM offered greatly improved spatial resolution compared with conventional optical microscopy, and the use of tunable excitation sources allowed basic spectroscopic information to be obtained.<br /><br /><br />NSOM techniques have many applications in solid state physics, where substantial efforts are made to design electronic devices with features on the nanometer scale.<br /><br />Optics in the Nano-World<br />S. W. Koch and A. KnorrScience 21 September 2001 293: 2217-2218<br />[DOI: 10.1126/science.1065119Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-80737869655860325632007-09-24T18:01:00.000-07:002007-09-24T18:04:18.680-07:00The good and the bad - in the very tiny<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cYldhnGieDzS1_A-K6mUS-8AzulmmMAxAlUJb-NOEjs6LxIWX-3f6Gf86DJxNfYl4XwZsQaklTy6ByNFevNFn5z7VNPEWkCp6J06qBkZ3Qmz83fDjEnEJ1qOtQVR00GLMQToFoI6OyJy/s1600-h/strighttimes.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113941313474464562" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cYldhnGieDzS1_A-K6mUS-8AzulmmMAxAlUJb-NOEjs6LxIWX-3f6Gf86DJxNfYl4XwZsQaklTy6ByNFevNFn5z7VNPEWkCp6J06qBkZ3Qmz83fDjEnEJ1qOtQVR00GLMQToFoI6OyJy/s320/strighttimes.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Nanoparticles may be a boon to mankind and are common in products - yet little is known about their effects on humans and the environmentBy Emma Philpott...</div><br /><div></div><br /><div align="justify">Nanoparticles are a description for very small particles that are less than 100 nanometres in size. This is about the same size as a virus or the size of a kink in a DNA chain. Very, very, small indeed. Scientists are excited because, at these kinds of sizes, materials often begin to behave differently. Many of the ways we assume particles should behave, and are taught about in physics and biology lessons at school, simply do not occur at these sizes…</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />However, unfortunately, there is a flip side to these miraculous properties. As people get more excited about the properties of nanoparticles, markets open up, companies are set up and people get keen to make money. More and more nanoparticles are in consumer products now: nanosilver in washing machines, fullerenes (special nanoparticles of carbon) in face creams, nanotitanium-dioxide in sunscreen, and there are tonnes and tonnes of nanoiron particles being pumped into contaminated ground in the United States. All this is happening. Meanwhile, science and research is way behind the enthusiasm of business, and is desperately trying to catch up. Many research groups across the world are just starting to look at what effects these nanoparticles will have on the human body and the environment. Some scientists have found that it is probably less important what the particles are actually made of and more important to know what their surface area is.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">The Straits Times (30 June 2007)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-75214849457543101312007-09-23T18:49:00.000-07:002007-09-23T18:50:39.693-07:00Mars the WATER story ...!!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlHqd0EC198d1dOpNkEOutCNNzgRJnIpN1tbXRFAMvUYoyxfDEzZCqPR3-wCDm9472VyRuaWsCznRv8QI_dZ262eOZ-uPewhCRMhCB9SkKZuTAG13ZOTzsT471uHW5gbTlZuVVrsIG7pC/s1600-h/MARS.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113582133949434658" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQlHqd0EC198d1dOpNkEOutCNNzgRJnIpN1tbXRFAMvUYoyxfDEzZCqPR3-wCDm9472VyRuaWsCznRv8QI_dZ262eOZ-uPewhCRMhCB9SkKZuTAG13ZOTzsT471uHW5gbTlZuVVrsIG7pC/s320/MARS.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify">The story of water on Mars has a checkered past. Historically thought to be criss-crossed by alien canals, the arrival of the first spacecraft showed that the red planet is bone dry. A flotilla of satellites has since traveled to Mars. Water ice has been seen dusting the ground, in hydrous minerals, in glaciers draped on volcano walls, and, the vast majority, locked up in the polar caps. Such a frosting gives a clue that water was once abundant on Mars and the planet's early climate was wet. Since then, water has been lost from the surface and atmosphere. It is possible that some may have survived underground, occasionally seeping to the surface, and so signs of flowing water have been sought extensively. Such places would be top destinations for future landers to search for signs of extant or past life.]</div><br /><div><br />Science 21 September 2007:<br />Vol. 317. no. 5845, p. 1705<br />DOI: 10.1126/science.317.5845.1705</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-70308934737326347462007-09-23T18:48:00.000-07:002007-09-23T18:49:23.445-07:00Light at nanoscale<div align="justify">In microelectronics, the notion of a circuit is a powerful concept in which a flow of a certainquantity (e.g., electric current as the “flow” of charges) is related to a potential of another quantity (e.g., electric potential) through the functions of “lumped” elements (e.g., resistor, inductor, capacitor, diode). This “lumpedness” of circuit elements is an important assumption in modeling, allowing simplification and, effectively,modularization of the function of each element. From a systems point of view, in effect what is happening inside the element becomes less relevant to the connectivity and functionality of this modularized element to the rest of the system. This notion has been extensively and successfully used in the radio frequency (RF) and microwave domains and has been proven to be a powerful tool in the design, innovation, and discovery of new functionalities in circuits in those frequency domains. Extending the operating frequency to higher frequency regimes—for example, terahertz, infrared (IR), and visible wavelengths— may in general lead to miniaturization of devices, higher storage capacities, and larger data transfer rates. </div><br /><div align="justify">Therefore, a natural questionmay be asked:<br />Can this concept of lumped circuit elements, and the mathematical machinery and tools of circuit theory, be extended and applied to the optical domain? Initially, one may imagine that merely scaling down the sizes of elements from the microwave to optical wavelengths may achieve this goal. However, several obstacles must be overcome before such optical lumped elements can be conceived. The first challenge is the size of such an optical module. Just as circuits in the lower frequency domains (e.g., in RF and microwave domains) indeed involve elements that are much smaller than the wavelength of operation, fabrication techniques can be used to construct nanoparticles with subwavelength dimensions at optical wavelengths. Therefore, the obstacle of size reduction may be overcome. The second, more limiting, hurdle is the response of metals at IR and optical frequencies, which cannot be simply scaled from RF to optics. Metals such as gold, silver, aluminum, and copper are highly conductive materials at RF and microwaves and consequently are commonly used in many circuits in these regimes. </div><div align="justify"><br />However, at optical frequencies, some noble metals behave differently in that they do not exhibit conductivity in the usual sense but instead exhibit plasmonic resonance (i.e., couplingof optical signals with collective oscillation of conduction electrons at thesemetal surfaces) asa result of the negative real part of their permittivities. Therefore, clearly, at optical wavelengths the conduction current may not be the main current flowing in such lumped optical elements Therefore, just scaling down the element size may not provide answers !!!Circuits with Light at Nanoscales: Optical Nanocircuits Inspired by MetamaterialsNader EnghetaScience 21 September 2007: 1698-1702.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-30385311285736060182007-09-19T01:18:00.000-07:002007-09-19T01:21:07.248-07:00gaint nano jumps in indian sensex....Following is the timeline on the rise and rise of the Sensex through Indian stock market history.<br /><br />1000, July 25, 1990<br />On July 25, 1990, the Sensex touched the magical four-digit figure for the first time and closed at 1,001 in the wake of a good monsoon and excellent corporate results.<br /><br />2000, January 15, 1992<br />On January 15, 1992, the Sensex crossed the 2,000-mark and closed at 2,020 followed by the liberal economic policy initiatives undertaken by the then finance minister and current Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.<br /><br />3000, February 29, 1992<br />On February 29, 1992, the Sensex surged past the 3000 mark in the wake of the market-friendly Budget announced by the then Finance Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.<br /><br />4000, March 30, 1992<br />On March 30, 1992, the Sensex crossed the 4,000-mark and closed at 4,091 on the expectations of a liberal export-import policy. It was then that the Harshad Mehta scam hit the markets and Sensex witnessed unabated selling.<br /><br />5000, October 8, 1999<br />On October 8, 1999, the Sensex crossed the 5,000-mark as the BJP-led coalition won the majority in the 13th Lok Sabha election.<br /><br />6000, February 11, 2000<br />On February 11, 2000, the infotech boom helped the Sensex to cross the 6,000-mark and hit and all time high of 6,006.<br /><br />7000, June 20, 2005<br />On June 20, 2005, the news of the settlement between the Ambani brothers boosted investor sentiments and the scrips of RIL, Reliance Energy, Reliance Capital and IPCL made huge gains. This helped the Sensex crossed 7,000 points for the first time.<br /><br />8000, September 8, 2005<br />On September 8, 2005, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share index -- the Sensex -- crossed the 8000 level following brisk buying by foreign and domestic funds in early trading.<br /><br />9000, November 28, 2005<br />The Sensex on November 28, 2005 crossed the magical figure of 9000 to touch 9000.32 points during mid-session at the Bombay Stock Exchange on the back of frantic buying spree by foreign institutional investors and well supported by local operators as well as retail investors.<br /><br />10,000, February 6, 2006<br />The Sensex on February 6, 2006 touched 10,003 points during mid-session. The Sensex finally closed above the 10K-mark on February 7, 2006.<br /><br />11,000, March 21, 2006<br />The Sensex on March 21, 2006 crossed the magical figure of 11,000 and touched a life-time peak of 11,001 points during mid-session at the Bombay Stock Exchange for the first time. However, it was on March 27, 2006 that the Sensex first closed at over 11,000 points.<br /><br />12,000, April 20, 2006<br />The Sensex on April 20, 2006 crossed the 12,000-mark and closed at a peak of 12,040 points for the first time.<br /><br />13,000, October 30, 2006<br />The Sensex on October 30, 2006 crossed the magical figure of 13,000 and closed at 13,024.26 points, up 117.45 points or 0.9%. It took 135 days for the Sensex to move from 12,000 to<br />13,000 and 123 days to move from 12,500 to 13,000.<br /><br />14,000, December 5, 2006<br />The Sensex on December 5, 2006 crossed the 14,000-mark to touch 14,028 points. It took 36 days for the Sensex to move from 13,000 to the 14,000 mark.<br /><br />15,000, July 6, 2007<br />The Sensex on July 6, 2007 crossed the magical figure of 15,000 to touch 15,005 points in afternoon trade. It took seven months for the Sensex to move from 14,000 to 15,000 points.<br /><br />16,000, September 19, 2007<br />The Sensex scaled yet another milestone during early morning trade on September 19, 2007. Within minutes after trading began, the Sensex crossed 16,000, rising by 450 points from the previous close. The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange's sensitive index took 53 days to reach 16,000 from 15,000. Nifty also touched a new high at 4659, up 113 points.<br /><br />Source : <a href="http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/sep/19spec.htm">http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/sep/19spec.htm</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-81515082982580713752007-09-18T18:19:00.000-07:002007-09-18T18:23:54.465-07:00challenges for high-temperature superconducting wire -Since the 1986 discovery of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) materials<a href="http://www.nature.com.ejproxy.a-star.edu.sg/nmat/journal/v6/n9/full/nmat1989.html#B1" minmax_bound="true">1</a>, the promise of zero-resistance devices operating at liquid-nitrogen temperature has fuelled a worldwide research investment that is now around one billion US dollars. Most research has been in the electric power area for applications such as magnets, motors and power-transmission lines; all power applications share a common requirement that the superconducting material be formed into a long, strong and flexible conductor so that it can be used like the copper wire it is intended to replace. And this is where the problems began, because the HTS materials are ceramics that are more like a piece of chalk than the ductile metal copper.<br /><br />Twenty years ago in a series of amazing discoveries it was found that a large family of ceramic cuprate materials exhibited superconductivity at temperatures above, and in some cases well above, that of liquid nitrogen. Imaginations were energized by the thought of applications for zero-resistance conductors cooled with an inexpensive and readily available cryogen. Early optimism, however, was soon tempered by the hard realities of these new materials: brittle ceramics are not easily formed into long flexible conductors; high current levels require near-perfect crystallinity; and — the downside of high transition temperature — performance drops rapidly in a magnetic field. Despite these formidable obstacles, thousands of kilometres of high-temperature superconducting wire have now been manufactured for demonstrations of transmission cables, motors and other electrical power components. The question is whether the advantages of superconducting wire, such as efficiency and compactness, can outweigh the disadvantage: cost. The remaining task for materials scientists is to return to the fundamentals and squeeze as much performance as possible from these wonderful and difficult materials.<br />Introduction<br /><br />Source :<br />Materials science challenges for high-temperature superconducting wire - pp631 - 642<br />In Nature materials<br />S. R. Foltyn, L. Civale, J. L. MacManus-Driscoll, Q. X. Jia, B. Maiorov, H. Wang & M. Maley<br />doi:10.1038/nmat1989Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-12195473160017123522007-09-18T18:13:00.000-07:002007-09-18T18:19:18.929-07:00Tiny seeds make a big difference<div align="justify"><br />A seeded-growth approach provides shape-controlled bimetallic nanocrystals and opens the<br />way for a rich selection of new nanoscale building blocks.</div><br /><div align="justify">The research paper reports platinum nanocubes as seeds, onto which palladium was overgrown epitaxially, yielding Pt–Pd bimetallic core–shell nanocubes. The cubic Pt seeds not only provide a well-defined surface for the overgrowth of the secondary metal, but also dictate its shape — tailored chemistry enables epitaxial core–shell particles with different shapes to<br />be produced</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Source : </div><div align="justify">Nanocrystals: Tiny seeds make a big difference - pp625 - 626<br />Uri Banin<br />In nature Materials</div><div align="justify">doi:10.1038/nmat1993</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-54454113063549384862007-09-18T18:06:00.000-07:002007-09-18T18:11:58.422-07:00Electronic control of Ca2+ signalling in neuronal cells using an organic electronic ion pumpCells and tissues use finely regulated ion fluxes for their intra- and intercellular communication. Technologies providing spatial and temporal control for studies of such fluxes are however, limited.<br /><br />Joakim Isaksson, Peter Kjäll, David Nilsson, Nathaniel Robinson1, Magnus Berggren & Agneta Richter-Dahlfors report an electrophoretic ion pump made of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(styrene sulphonate) (PEDOT:PSS) to mediate electronic control of the ion homeostasis in neurons. Ion delivery from a source reservoir to a receiving electrolyte via a PEDOT:PSS thin-film channel is achieved by electronic addressing. Ions are delivered in high quantities at an associated on/off ratio exceeding 300. This induces physiological signalling events that can be recorded at the single-cell level. Furthermore, miniaturization of the device to a 50 micrometer wide channel allows for stimulation of individual cells. As this technology platform allows for electronic control of ion signalling in individual cells with proper spatial and temporal resolution, it will be useful in further studies of communication in biological systems.<br /><br />Nature Materials 6, 673 - 679 (2007) Published online: 22 July 2007 doi:10.1038/nmat1963Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-30954220225604029892007-09-16T20:41:00.000-07:002007-09-16T21:02:38.675-07:00The materials market due to nano revolutions....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChMhfE-Q7-x44Va5G2WLZVvAoToETPh7OnLKsJSr9W5j5Fe-MyPFny9rzIFRoYczjdU8r7XR0jMjfn9h9SoBK28F1fSB8w5GrhmxDnEZs6mQSu38L1kfYAjAoGSJM58nsXppde_qHqoPJ/s1600-h/Picture1.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111018296412753650" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChMhfE-Q7-x44Va5G2WLZVvAoToETPh7OnLKsJSr9W5j5Fe-MyPFny9rzIFRoYczjdU8r7XR0jMjfn9h9SoBK28F1fSB8w5GrhmxDnEZs6mQSu38L1kfYAjAoGSJM58nsXppde_qHqoPJ/s320/Picture1.png" border="0" /></a> <div><div>Nano materials with heavy promises are expected to creat great deal of material investment opertunity...</div><br /><br /><div></div><div>Take the case of headlong rush to flat-screen technology has been warmly welcomed..this has lead to havy deamd for indium ( indium tin oxide (ITO) )— the material that coats these screens.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>Demand for indium has skyrocketed in recent years, mainly because of its use in liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and plasma screens. The electrical conductivity and transparency of ITO has turned it into a crucial industrial component, which can be readily etched and patterned to create a thin film of transparent circuits on both sides of the glass screen.</div><br /><br /><div></div><div>Indium did wait for the new technology to emerge...it was earleir used in small quantities<br />in hundreds of odd applications. </div><br /><br /><div>A decade ago, the world was using less than 200 tonnes of indium a year. Now, annual consumption exceeds 1,500 tonnes.</div><br /><br /><div></div><div>Similar could be the casse in the futuristic high demand for commodities in the booming world economy is forcing. This could lead to materials scientists and engineers to revisit<br />their options !!!</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-41631333005391092702007-09-16T18:10:00.000-07:002007-09-16T18:23:54.708-07:00Healthy challenges before nanomedicine moves from the lab to the bedside<div align="justify">Imagine doctors using carbon nanotubes to shrink cancerous tumours, or deploying peptide-based nanofibres to stop bleeding or to regenerate severed nerves.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />Indeed, as the list of nanobased medical products continues to grow, and as more and more nano-enabled products enter pharmaceutical ‘pipelines’, it is clear that nanomedicine will see significant progress in a few key areas: drug delivery, imaging, the detection of disease, and<br />regenerative medicine.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />It is in drug delivery and imaging that nanotechnology is likely to have the biggest impact, largely because it will be possible to target only those regions where drugs are needed, leaving the surrounding healthy tissue intact.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />multifunctional drug delivery systems in which the nanoparticles carry both targeting agents and therapeutic payloads may also double up to act as contrast agents for MRI, CT and other imaging techniques.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />Detection tools made from nanowires and nanocantilever arrays allow faster diagnosis and, therefore, earlier prevention of disease. It is foreseeable that these and other advances will offer personalized diagnostic tools and treatment (theranostics) in the future, especially for treating cancer.</div><div align="justify"><br />By virtue of their small size, nanobased platforms have several advantages when treating diseases, which are largely caused by damage at the cellular or molecular level.</div><div align="justify"><br />Nanotechnology allows cells, proteins and genes to be manipulated with precision, a feat impossible with existing surgical tools, which are large and crude from the viewpoint of a<br />cell. Equally dramatic is the ability of these nanomaterials to move through our bodies and deliver therapeutics to previously unreachable places. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">All this, of course, creates a new set of concerns related to toxicity and biodistribution.</div><div align="justify">This ultimatly boils down to concentrate on the healthy challenges before nanomedicine moves from the lab to the bedside !!!!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6297378562957022953.post-37629903102398197492007-09-13T19:38:00.000-07:002007-09-13T19:58:55.938-07:00Safe deposition of Novel Metal Oxide Thin Films on Substrates...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tjhzJDx52EvJqEbQzIhgueqAiE709k3oxWo0Gk_TzhLcWS7WscMq0BxlrRweItOh4xczqzQggM562jNx_HjuLuN8AQ6csMg3Pil6he7DW4f1GQR-q1rABysYbgdfeasOfpqEC1kmDTLL/s1600-h/GarveyZnOPolymer.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109888561100115666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tjhzJDx52EvJqEbQzIhgueqAiE709k3oxWo0Gk_TzhLcWS7WscMq0BxlrRweItOh4xczqzQggM562jNx_HjuLuN8AQ6csMg3Pil6he7DW4f1GQR-q1rABysYbgdfeasOfpqEC1kmDTLL/s320/GarveyZnOPolymer.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div>University at buffallo chemists have developed a safe method to grow zinc oxide thin films(made of dense bristle like nanostructures)and deposite it over temperature sensitive substrate (ex:plastic,tapes etc..which is a real tough job!).</div><br /><div><strong></strong></div><br /><div>The good feature of the pure zinc oxide film are they could be blend to any shape whereas the bad one is that they have to be deposited at very high temperature which may cause the substrate to melt!.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>how did they overcome this?</div><br /><div>Chemist james garvey along with other UB researchers have developed a method (brainy guys!)</div><br /><div>and it is</div><br /><div>they grow the thin films by first reacting zinc metal and oxygen in the presence of a high power, electrical arc discharge. </div><br /><div>The method they developed, called Pulsed Arc Molecular Beam Deposition (PAMBD), strikes a discharge between two pure zinc rods. </div><br /><div>This lightening-like discharge creates a bright, blue plasma five times hotter than the surface of the sun!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>At this high temperature the pure metal zinc gets vapourized and reacts with the oxygen gas pulse to form zinc oxide molecules.The gaseous zinc oxide is then sprayed through a tiny aperture, a process that results in cooling the expanding gas down to about 50 degrees Kelvin, allowing the beam of now cold metal oxides to safely coat even the most temperature-sensitive surfaces. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>"This is an enabling technology that will allow for the deposition of thin films on batteries, credit cards, on any flexible surface you have," Garvey said, adding that the UB process can use any metal and a wide array of different metal oxides can be produced easily. </div><div> </div><div><a href="http://www.chem.buffalo.edu/garvey_research.php">http://www.chem.buffalo.edu/garvey_research.php</a></div><div> </div><div>see this to know more about Garvey's research..</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0