Nano - Nanotechnology - Molecular Machines
Controlling
matter at the
nano scale. Making small stuff do big things.
Self Assembly.
Nano is
One
Billionth or one thousand million. 10
^(-9);
Ten to the Minus Nine Meters.
Very Small.
Nano-Meter is 10 to the minus 9 meters. Hair is a hundred
thousand nanometers thick. One billionth of a
meter.
Nano-Particle is 1
millionth of a millimeter (1.0 × 10-6 millimeters).
Size
Dependent Properties.
Nano-Crystal
is a material particle having at least one dimension smaller than 100
nanometres (a nanoparticle) and composed of atoms in either a single- or
poly-crystalline arrangement.
Micrometre is an
SI
derived unit of length equalling 1×10−6 metre (SI standard prefix "micro-"
= 10−6); that is, one millionth of a metre (or one thousandth of a
millimetre, 0.001 mm, or about 0.000039 inch). (Symbol:
μm).
Scientific Notation
is a way of expressing numbers that are too big or too small to be
conveniently written in decimal form. It is commonly used by scientists,
mathematicians and engineers, in part because it can simplify certain
arithmetic operations. On scientific calculators it is usually known as
"SCI" display mode. Written as 1 × 10 to the Minus 9
Power. -
Power
of 10.
Giga-Meter is the size of the
orbit of the
moon around earth.
Atoms -
Tiny Machines -
Molecular Machines -
Self Replicating -
Quantum Mechanics
-
Graphene
Nano-Alloy is an alloy consisting of
dispersed
nanoparticles of two or more
metals.
Nano-Engineering is the practice of engineering on the
nanoscale. It derives its name from the
nanometre, a unit of measurement
equalling one billionth of a meter.
Nano-Engineering.
Nano-Structure is a structure of intermediate size between microscopic
and
molecular structures. Nanostructural detail is
microstructure at nanoscale.
Nano-Dot
can refer to several technologies which use nanometer-scale localized
structures. Nanodots generally exploit properties of quantum dots to
localize magnetic or electrical fields at very small scales. Applications
for nanodots could include high-density information storage, energy
storage, and light-emitting devices.
Store Dot.
Quantum Dot are tiny semiconductor particles a few nanometres in size,
having optical and electronic properties that differ from larger particles
due to
quantum mechanics. They are a central topic in nanotechnology. When
the quantum dots are illuminated by UV light, an electron in the quantum
dot can be excited to a state of higher energy. In the case of a
semiconducting quantum dot, this process corresponds to the transition of
an electron from the valence band to the conductance band. The excited
electron can drop back into the valence band releasing its energy by the
emission of light. This light emission (photoluminescence) is illustrated
in the figure on the right. The color of that light depends on the energy
difference between the conductance band and the valence band.
Researchers Control Multiple Wavelengths of Light from a Single Source.
KAIST researchers have synthesized a collection of nanoparticles, known as
carbon dots, capable of emitting multiple wavelengths of light from a
single particle. Additionally, the team discovered that the dispersion of
the carbon dots, or the interparticle distance between each dot,
influences the properties of the light the carbon dots emit. The discovery
will allow researchers to understand how to control these carbon dots and
create new, environmentally responsible displays, lighting, and sensing
technology.
Theory describes quantum phenomenon in nanomaterials. Theoretical
physicists have developed mathematical formulas that describe a physical
phenomenon happening within
quantum dots and other nanosized materials. The formulas could be
applied to further theoretical research about the physics of quantum dots,
ultra-cold atomic gasses, and quarks. Normally, electrical resistance
drops in metals as the temperature drops. But in metals containing
magnetic impurities, this only happens down to a critical temperature,
beyond which resistance rises with dropping temperatures.
Ultra-thin designer materials unlock quantum phenomena.
Nanostitches enable lighter and tougher composite materials. In an
approach they call 'nanostitching,' engineers used carbon nanotubes to
prevent cracking in multilayered composites. The advance could lead to
next-generation airplanes and spacecraft.
Discovery unravels how atomic vibrations emerge in nanomaterials.
Advances in microscopy reveal source of
phonons’ puzzling behavior. Hoglund employed microscopy techniques to
answer questions raised in experimental results Hopkins published in 2013,
reporting on thermal conductivity of
superlattices, which
Hoglund likens to a Lego building block. You can achieve desired material
properties by changing how different oxides couple to each other, how many
times the oxides are layered and the thickness of each layer," Hoglund
said. Hopkins expected the phonon to get resistance as it traveled through
the lattice network, dissipating thermal energy at each interface of the
oxide layers. Instead, thermal conductivity went up when the interfaces
were really close together. "This led us to believe that phonons can form
a wave that exists across all subsequent materials, also known as a
coherent effect," Hopkins said. "We came up with an explanation that fit
the conductivity measurements, but always felt this work was incomplete."
Nanoengineers 3-D print biomimetic blood vessel networks.
Micro-Fabrication is the process of fabricating miniature structures
of micrometre scales and smaller. Historically, the earliest
microfabrication processes were used for integrated circuit fabrication,
also known as "semiconductor manufacturing" or "semiconductor device
fabrication.
Scaling up nano for sustainable manufacturing. A research team has
developed a high-performance coating material that self-assembles from 2D
nanosheets, and which could significantly extend the shelf life of
electronics, energy storage devices, health & safety products, and more.
The researchers are the first to successfully scale up nanomaterial
synthesis into useful materials for manufacturing and commercial
applications. The new nanosheet material overcomes the problem of stacking
defects by skipping the serial stacked sheet approach altogether. Instead,
the team mixed blends of materials that are known to self-assemble into
small particles with alternating layers of the component materials,
suspended in a solvent. To design the system, the researchers used complex
blends of nanoparticles, small molecules, and block copolymer-based
supramolecules, all of which are commercially available.
Nano-Lithography
is the branch of nanotechnology concerned with the study and application
of
fabricating nanometer-scale structures, meaning patterns with at least
one lateral dimension between 1 and 100 nm.
Nanoparticles can save historic buildings. The silicate nanoparticles
come together to form such colloidal crystals when they dry in the rock
and thus jointly create new connections between the individual mineral
surfaces. This increases the strength of the natural stone.
Hardest
substance known is
ultrahard nanotwinned cubic boron nitride.
Nano-Medicine
Nano-Medicine
is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of
nanomaterials and
biological devices, to
nanoelectronic biosensors, and
even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology such as
biological machines. Current problems for nanomedicine involve
understanding the issues related to toxicity and environmental impact of
nanoscale materials (materials whose structure is on the scale of
nanometers, i.e. billionths of a meter).
Frozen organs could be brought back to life safely one day with the aid of
nanotechnology, with Improved tissue cryopreservation using inductive
heating of magnetic nanoparticles.
Vitamin
Absorption.
Nano-Materials
takes a
materials science-based
approach to nanotechnology, leveraging advances in materials
metrology and synthesis which
have been developed in support of
microfabrication research. Materials with structure at the nanoscale
often have unique optical, electronic, or mechanical properties.
Self-Healing Material
are a class of smart materials that have the structurally incorporated
ability to repair damage caused by mechanical usage over time.
Nano-Machines.
Scientists have
designed a new nano material that can reflect or transmit light on demand
with temperature control (youtube).
Terminator’-style material heals itself (youtube)
Materials may lead to self-healing smartphones. The key to self-repair
is in the chemical bonding. Two types of bonds exist in materials. There
are
covalent bonds,
which are strong and don’t readily reform once broken; and noncovalent
bonds, which are weaker and more dynamic. For example, the hydrogen bonds
that connect water molecules to one another are non-covalent, breaking and
reforming constantly to give rise to the fluid properties of water. “Most
self-healing polymers form hydrogen bonds or metal-ligand coordination,
but these aren’t suitable for ionic conductors,” Wang says.
Modifying The Genes Of Plants using Carbon Nanotubes.
Light-Activated Nanoparticles can supercharge current Antibiotics.
Formation of non-spherical polymersomes driven by hydrophobic directional
aromatic perylene interactions. UNSW Sydney scientists have developed
a way to control the shape of
polymer molecules so they self-assemble into
non-spherical nanoparticles - an advance that could improve the delivery
of toxic drugs to
tumours.
Drugs in the Water
Supply.
Light-based 'tractor beam' assembles materials at the nanoscale.
Researchers have adapted a light-based technology employed widely in
biology -- known as optical traps or optical tweezers -- to operate in a
water-free liquid environment of carbon-rich organic solvents. The optical
tweezers act as a light-based 'tractor beam' that can assemble nanoscale
semiconductor materials precisely into larger structures. Unlike the
tractor beams of science fiction, which might grab massive spaceships,
these optical tweezers can trap materials that are nearly one billion
times shorter than a meter.
Researchers develop new method to increase effectiveness of nanomedicines.
New technique uses complement inhibitor Factor I to prevent proteins from
attacking treatment-carrying nanoparticles. Researchers have discovered a
new, more effective method of preventing the body's own proteins from
treating nanomedicines like foreign invaders, by covering the
nanoparticles with a coating to suppress the immune response that dampens
the therapy's effectiveness.
Nano-Chemistry is
the combination of
chemistry and
nanoscience. Nanochemistry is associated with synthesis of building blocks
which are dependent on size, surface, shape and defect properties.
Nanochemistry is being used in chemical, materials and physical, science
as well as engineering, biological and medical applications. Nanochemistry
and other nanoscience fields have the same core concepts but the usages of
those concepts are different.
Researchers will find the structure of the smallest building blocks in Nano-Chemistry.
Nanomaterial-Based Catalyst are usually heterogeneous
catalysts broken
up into metal nanoparticles in order to speed up the catalytic process.
Metal nanoparticles have a higher surface area so there is increased
catalytic activity because more catalytic reactions can occur at the same
time. Nanoparticle catalysts can also be easily separated and recycled
with more retention of catalytic activity than their bulk counterparts.
These catalysts can play two different roles in catalytic processes: they
can be the site of catalysis or they can act as a support for catalytic
processes. They are typically used under mild conditions to prevent
decomposition of the nanoparticles at extreme conditions. Nanocatalyst:
effect of size reduction. Catalytic technologies are critical to present
and future energy, chemical process, and environmental industries.
Nano-Electronics
Nanoelectronics refers to the use of nanotechnology in
electronic components. The term
covers a diverse set of devices and materials, with the common
characteristic that they are so small that inter-atomic interactions and
quantum mechanical properties need to be studied extensively. Some of
these candidates include: hybrid molecular/
semiconductor electronics,
one-dimensional nanotubes/nanowires (e.g. Silicon nanowires or
Carbon
nanotubes) or advanced molecular electronics. Recent silicon CMOS
technology generations, such as the 22 nanometer node, are already within
this regime. Nanoelectronics are sometimes considered as disruptive
technology because present candidates are significantly different from
traditional
transistors.
Nano Electronics
Molecular Lego for Nanoelectronics -
Building Blocks
(cellls)
Supersonic phenomena, the key to extremely low heat loss nano-electronics.
‘Incomprehensible’ birth of Supercrystal formation explained
ultra-fast electronics using tiny nanocrystals.
Using Nanocrystal Networks for Artificial Intelligence applications in a
Machine Learning device.
Nanotechnology is manipulation of matter on an atomic,
molecular, and supramolecular scale.
Nano Technologies
(gov) -
Nano Archive
Nanowire “Inks” Enable Paper-Based Printable Electronics. Highly
conductive films make functional circuits without adding high heat. Silver
nanowire films conduct electricity well enough to form functioning
circuits without applying high heat, enabling printable electronics on
heat-sensitive materials like paper or plastic.
Captured on video: DNA Nanotubes build a bridge between two molecular
posts Johns Hopkins researchers have coaxed DNA nanotubes to assemble
themselves into bridge-like structures arched between two molecular
landmarks on the surface of a lab dish.
Dopant
is a trace impurity element that is inserted into a substance (in very low
concentrations) to alter the electrical or optical properties of the
substance. In the case of crystalline substances, the atoms of the dopant
very commonly take the place of elements that were in the crystal lattice
of the base material. The crystalline materials are frequently either
crystals of a semiconductor such as silicon and germanium for use in
solid-state electronics, or transparent crystals for use in the production
of various laser types; however, in some cases of the latter,
noncrystalline substances such as glass can also be doped with impurities.
Nano-Magnet is a submicrometric system that presents spontaneous
magnetic order
(magnetization) at zero applied magnetic field (remanence).
Scientists Discover a 2-D Magnet. Magnetism in the 2-D world of
monolayers materials that are formed by a single atomic layer.
Graphene
Graphene is a one-atom-thick
planar sheet of
carbon atoms
that are densely packed in a
honeycomb crystal
lattice; it is a basic
structural element of
graphite
and fullerenes, which is a form of carbon having a large molecule
consisting of an
empty cage of
sixty or more carbon atoms.
Graphene is an
allotrope of carbon in the form of a two-dimensional, atomic-scale,
hexagonal
lattice in which one atom forms each
vertex. It is the basic
structural element of other allotropes, including graphite, charcoal,
carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. It can also be considered as an
indefinitely large aromatic
molecule, the ultimate case of the family of
flat polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Graphene has many unusual
properties. It is about
200 times stronger than the strongest
steel. It
conducts heat and electricity very efficiently and is nearly transparent.
Graphene also shows a large and nonlinear
diamagnetism, even greater
than graphite, and can be levitated by Nd-Fe-B
magnets. Graphene, a
lightweight, thin, flexible material, can be used to enhance the strength
and speed of
computer display screens, electric/photonics circuits, solar
cells and various medical,
chemical and industrial processes, among other things. It is comprised
of a single layer of carbon atoms bonded together in a repeating pattern
of
hexagons. Isolated for the first time 15 years ago, it is so thin that
it is considered
two-dimensional and thought to be the strongest material on the
planet. Vikas Berry, associate professor and department head of chemical
engineering, and colleagues used a chemical process to attach
nanomaterials on graphene without changing the properties and the
arrangement of the
carbon atoms in graphene. By doing so, the UIC
scientists retained graphene's electron-mobility, which is essential in
high-speed electronics. The addition of the plasmonic silver nanoparticles
to graphene also increased the material's ability to boost the efficiency
of graphene-based solar cells by 11 fold (11 times the original amount),
Berry said. The research, funded by the National Science Foundation (CMMI-1030963),
has been published in the
Journal Nano
Letters. Instead of adding molecules to the individual carbon atoms of
graphene, Berry's new method adds
metal atoms, such as chromium or
molybdenum, to the six atoms of a benzoid ring. Unlike carbon-centered
bonds, this bond is delocalized, which keeps the carbon atoms' arrangement
undistorted and planar, so that the graphene retains its unique properties
of
electrical conduction. The new chemical method of annexing nanomaterials on
Graphene will revolutionize graphene technology by
expanding the scope of its applications.
Materials Science -
Crystals -
Pencils -
Polymers -
Bio-Plastics -
Material Science
Taming "Wild" Electrons in Graphene. Scientists at Rutgers
University-New Brunswick have learned how to tame the unruly electrons in
graphene, paving the way for the ultra-fast transport of electrons with
low loss of energy in novel systems.
Graphene enables High-Speed Electronics on Flexible Detector Materials for
Terahertz Frequencies.
Graphene enables clock rates in the terahertz range. Researchers pave
the way for graphene-based nanoelectronics of the future.
Speed -
Terahertz.
A Potential
Source of Clean, Limitless Energy (youtube) - Rippling Graphene Sheets
May Be the Key to Clean, Unlimited Energy. The next generation of smart
devices could be powered by nano-scale power generators. Called a
Vibration Energy Harvester,
this development provides evidence for the theory that two-dimensional
materials could be a source of usable energy.
Band Gap formation of 2D materialin graphene: Future prospect and
challenges.
Electronic properties of Graphene. Graphene is a
semimetal whose conduction and valence bands meet at the
Dirac
points, which are six locations in momentum space, the vertices of its
hexagonal
Brillouin zone, divided into two non-equivalent sets of three points.
The two sets are labeled K and K'. The sets give graphene a valley
degeneracy of gv = 2. By contrast, for traditional semiconductors the
primary point of interest is generally Γ, where momentum is zero. Four
electronic properties separate it from other condensed matter systems.
Team makes High-Quality Graphene with Soybeans.
Engineers create Artificial Graphene in a Nanofabricated Semiconductor
Structure.
Hydrocarbon Chain is
an organic molecule consisting of nothing else but carbon and hydrogen
atoms arranged in a
chain. The carbon atoms are interconnected to each other by
covalent bonding. And each
carbon atom in the chain is bonded to one or up to three hydrogen atoms.
Graphite
is a
crystalline form of the
element
carbon
with its
atoms
arranged in a
hexagonal
structure. It occurs naturally in this form and is the most stable form of
carbon under standard conditions. Under high pressures and temperatures it
converts to diamond. Graphite is used in pencils and lubricants. It is a
good conductor of heat and electricity. Its high conductivity makes it
useful in electronic products such as electrodes, batteries, and solar
panels.
Mixing Graphite with Bacteria to make materials manipulated on the
scale of atoms or molecules that exhibit unique properties. Paving the way
for future products and applications.
Researchers control the properties of graphene transistors using pressure.
Researchers have developed a technique to manipulate the electrical
conductivity of graphene with compression, bringing the material one step
closer to being a viable semiconductor for use in today's electronic
devices.
Magnetic surprise revealed in 'magic-angle' graphene. Magnets and
superconductors don't normally get along, but a new study shows that '
magic-angle'
graphene is capable of producing both superconductivity and
ferromagnetism, which could
be useful in quantum computing. When two sheets of the carbon nanomaterial
graphene are stacked together at a particular angle with respect to each
other, it gives rise to some fascinating physics. For instance, when this
so-called "magic-angle graphene" is cooled to near absolute zero, it
suddenly becomes a superconductor, meaning it conducts electricity with
zero resistance.
Reinforcing graphene with embedded carbon nanotubes 'rebar' makes the
2D nanomaterial more than twice as tough as pristine graphene.
Nano-Graphene are strips of
graphene with ultra-thin
width (<50 nm). Graphene ribbons were introduced as a theoretical model by
Mitsutaka Fujita and coauthors to examine the edge and nanoscale size
effect in graphene.
Scientists Drill into White Graphene to create Artificial Atoms. By
drilling holes into a thin two-dimensional sheet of hexagonal boron
nitride with a gallium-focused ion beam, scientists have created
artificial atoms that generate single photons, which work in air and room
temperature. Patterned on a microchip and working in ambient conditions,
the atoms could lead to rapid advancements in new
quantum-based technology.
Olympicene ange potential applications include sophisticated sensors,
information and energy storage, solar cells and high-tech LEDs.
Measuring the Temperature of Two-Dimensional Materials at the Atomic Level.
Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Monolayers are atomically thin
semiconductors of the type MX2, with M a transition metal atom (Mo, W,
etc.) and X a chalcogen atom (S, Se, or Te). One layer of M atoms is
sandwiched between two layers of X atoms. They are part of the large and
new family of the so-called 2D materials, name used to emphasize their
extraordinary thinness. For example a MoS2 monolayer is only 6.5 Å thick.
The key feature of these materials is the interaction of large atoms in
the 2D structure as compared with first-row transition metal
dichalcogenides, e.g., WTe2 exhibits anomalous giant magnetoresistance and
superconductivity.
Integrated
Circuits.
Paper-based Supercapacitor uses metal nanoparticles to boost energy
density. Using a simple layer-by-layer coating technique, researchers
have developed a paper-based flexible supercapacitor that could be used to
help power wearable devices. The device uses metallic nanoparticles to
coat cellulose fibers in the paper, creating
supercapacitor electrodes with high
energy and power densities -- and the best performance so far in a
textile-based supercapacitor.
The observation of an abnormal state of matter in a 2-D magnetic material
is the latest development in the race to harness novel electronic
properties for more robust and efficient next-generation devices. Neutron
scattering has helped researchers investigate a graphene-like
strontium-manganese-antimony material that hosts what they suspect is a
Weyl semimetal phase. The properties of Weyl semimetals include both
magnetism and topological
semimetal behavior, in which electrons -- or charge carriers -- are nearly
massless and immune to conduction defects. Neutron scattering at the
Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) helped
investigate a graphene-like strontium-manganese-antimony material (Sr1-yMn1-zSb2)
that hosts what researchers suspect is a Weyl semimetal phase. Examining a
small, high-quality crystal grown at Tulane University, the team was able
to determine the magnetic structure of Sr1-yMn1-zSb2, using neutrons at
the Four-Circle Diffractometer instrument at the High Flux Isotope
Reactor. Neutrons are ideal tools for identifying and characterizing
magnetism in almost any material, because they, like electrons, exhibit a
flow of magnetism called "spin. We discovered two types of
ferromagnetic orders and
found the experimental proof of the time-reversal symmetry breaking,
likely creating a Weyl state in Sr1-yMn1-zSb2. This makes this system a
wonderful candidate to study the effect of the time-reversal symmetry
breaking on the electronic band structure.
Unexpected quantum effects in natural double-layer graphene. At
temperatures just above absolute zero of minus 273.15 degrees Celsius, the
electrons in the graphene can interact with each other -- and a variety of
complex quantum phases emerge completely unexpectedly. For example, the
interactions cause the spins of the electrons to align, making the
material magnetic without any further external influence. By changing the
electric field, researchers can continuously change the strength of the
interactions of the charge carriers in the double-layer graphene. Under
specific conditions, the electrons can be so restricted in their freedom
of movement that they form their own electron lattice and can no longer
contribute to transporting charge due to their mutual repulsive
interaction. The system is then electrically insulating.
Aromaticity is
used to describe a cyclic (ring-shaped), planar (flat)
molecule with a ring of
resonance bonds that exhibits more stability than other
geometric or connective
arrangements with the same set of atoms. Aromatic molecules are very
stable, and do not break apart easily to react with other substances.
Organic compounds that are not aromatic are classified as aliphatic
compounds—they might be cyclic, but only aromatic rings have special
stability (low reactivity).
3D Graphene Material can be molded into any shape and supports 3,000
times its own weight before springing back to its original height.
Nano-Tube.
Lab turns trash into valuable graphene in a flash. 'Green' process
promises pristine graphene in bulk using waste food, plastic and other
materials.
Ultrafast lasers map electrons 'going ballistic' in graphene, with
implications for next-gen electronic devices. Research reveals the
ballistic movement of electrons in
graphene in
real time. The observations could lead to breakthroughs in governing
electrons in semiconductors, fundamental components in most information
and energy technology.
Nano- Shell or rather a
nanoshell plasmon, is a type of spherical nanoparticle consisting of a
dielectric core which is covered by a thin metallic shell (usually gold).
These nanoshells involve a quasiparticle called plasmon which is a
collective excitation or quantum plasma oscillation where the electrons
simultaneously oscillate with respect to all the ions.
Braiding a Molecular Knot with Eight Crossings. Knots may ultimately
prove just as versatile and useful at the nanoscale as at the macroscale.
However, the lack of synthetic routes to all but the simplest molecular
knots
currently prevents systematic investigation of the influence of knotting
at the molecular level. We found that it is possible to assemble four
building blocks into three braided ligand strands. Octahedral iron(II)
ions control the relative positions of the three strands at each crossing
point in a circular triple helicate, while structural constraints on the
ligands determine the braiding connections. This approach enables two-step
assembly of a molecular 819 knot featuring eight nonalternating crossings
in a 192-atom closed loop ~20 nanometers in length. The resolved
metal-free 819 knot enantiomers have pronounced features in their circular
dichroism spectra resulting solely from topological chirality.
Researchers Sew Atomic Lattices Seamlessly Together. In electronics,
joining different materials produces “heterojunctions”—the most
fundamental components in solar cells, LEDs or computer chips. The
smoother the seam between two materials, the more easily electrons flow
across it; essential for how well the electronic devices function. But
they’re made up of crystals—rigid
lattices of atoms,
which may have very different spacing—and they don’t take kindly to being
mashed together.
Carbon Plate-Nanolattices. Plate-based carbon nanolattice proves
stronger than diamond.
A template for fast synthesis of nanographenes. New combined synthesis
method an exciting breakthrough in the construction of nanographene
libraries. Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM), Nagoya
University. Development of a new APEX reaction means that large numbers of
nanographenes can be easily synthesized using a commercially available
hydrocarbon as a template. Nanographenes are the part structures of
graphene, which is a sheet of carbon atoms around 3 nanometers thick with
particular potential for use in semiconductor development, having electron
mobility several hundred times better than current generation materials.
Graphene was first isolated in 2004, a discovery which received the 2010
Nobel Prize in physics, making it a very new material which is currently
the subject of a great deal of research.
Stretching changes the electronic properties of graphene. The
electronic properties of graphene can be specifically modified by
stretching the material evenly, say researchers. These results open the
door to the development of new types of electronic components. Graphene
consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal
lattice. The material is very flexible and has excellent electronic
properties, making it attractive for numerous applications -- electronic
components in particular.
Exploding and weeping ceramics provide path to new shape-shifting material.
Discovery could lead to improvements in medical devices and electronics.
Two-Photon Polymerization: A New Approach to Micromachining.
Chemists find new path to make strong 2D material better for applications.
Scientists at
Rice
make hexagonal-boron nitride, a 2D material much stiffer than steel and an
excellent conductor of heat, much simpler to modify for applications
through a new chemical process. Two-dimensional h-BN, an insulating
material also known as "white graphene," is four times stiffer than steel
and an excellent conductor of heat, a benefit for composites that rely on
it to enhance their properties. Those qualities also make h-BN hard to
modify. Its tight hexagonal lattice of alternating boron and nitrogen
atoms is highly resistant to change, unlike graphene and other 2D
materials that can be easily modified -- aka functionalized -- with other
elements.
Inventing the world's strongest silver. A team of scientists has made
the strongest silver ever -- 42 percent stronger than the previous world
record. It's part of a discovery of a new mechanism at the nanoscale that
can create
metals much stronger than any ever made before -- while not
losing electrical conductivity.
Toughest
Material on Earth.
Mussel-inspired defect engineering enhances the mechanical strength of
graphene fibers. A research group applied
polydopamine as an effective infiltrate
binder to achieve high
mechanical and electrical properties for graphene-based liquid crystalline fibers.
Better than graphene' material development may improve implantable
technology. Researchers tweaked
borophene to interact with cells and other biological units in unique
ways. Borophene is a very interesting material, as it resembles carbon
very closely including its atomic weight and electron structure but with
more remarkable properties.
Limpet Teeth rely on an organ called the
radula,
which contains iron-mineralized teeth. Although limpets contain over 100
rows of teeth, only the outermost 10 are used in feeding. These teeth form
via matrix-mediated
biomineralization, a cyclic process involving the delivery of iron
minerals to reinforce a polymeric chitin
matrix. Upon being fully
mineralized, the teeth reposition themselves within the radula, allowing
limpets to scrape off algae from rock surfaces. As limpet teeth wear out,
they are subsequently degraded (occurring anywhere between 12 and 48
hours) and replaced with new teeth. Different limpet species exhibit
different overall shapes of their teeth.
Strength:
Looking into limpet teeth of Patella vulgata, Vickers hardness values are
between 268 and 646 kg m−1 m−2, while tensile strength values range
between 3.0 and 6.5 GPa. As spider silk has a tensile strength only up to
4.5 GPa, limpet teeth
outperforms spider silk to be
the strongest
biological material. These considerably high values exhibited by
limpet teeth are due to the following factors: The first factor is the
nanometer length scale of goethite
nano-fibers
in limpet teeth; at this length scale, materials become insensitive to
flaws that would otherwise decrease failure strength. As a result,
goethite nanofibers are able to maintain substantial failure strength
despite the presence of defects.
Nanofiber are fibers with diameters in the nanometer range. Nanofibers
can be generated from different
polymers and hence have
different physical properties and application potentials. Examples of
natural polymers include collagen, cellulose, silk fibroin, keratin,
gelatin and polysaccharides such as chitosan and alginate. Examples of
synthetic polymers include poly(lactic acid) (PLA), polycaprolactone
(PCL), polyurethane (PU), poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA),
poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), and poly(ethylene-co-vinylacetate)
(PEVA). Polymer chains are connected via covalent bonds. The diameters of
nanofibers depend on the type of polymer used and the method of
production. All polymer nanofibers are unique for their large surface
area-to-volume ratio, high porosity, appreciable mechanical strength, and
flexibility in functionalization compared to their microfiber
counterparts. There exist many different methods to make nanofibers,
including drawing, electrospinning, self-assembly, template synthesis, and
thermal-induced phase separation. Electrospinning is the most commonly
used method to generate nanofibers because of the straightforward setup,
the ability to mass-produce continuous nanofibers from various polymers,
and the capability to generate ultrathin fibers with controllable
diameters, compositions, and orientations. This flexibility allows for
controlling the shape and arrangement of the fibers so that different
structures (i.e. hollow, flat and ribbon shaped) can be fabricated
depending on intended application purposes. Using an innovative melt
processing method, which is appropriate for the industrial mass
production, scientists and engineers at the University of Minnesota, have
been able to make nanofibers as thin as only 36 nm. Nanofibers have many
possible technological and commercial applications. They are used in
tissue engineering, drug delivery, cancer diagnosis, lithium-air battery,
optical sensors and air filtration.
First functional semiconductor made from graphene. The technology
could allow for smaller and faster devices and may have applications for
quantum computing. Researchers have created the first functional
semiconductor made from graphene, a single sheet of carbon atoms held
together by the strongest bonds known. The breakthrough throws open the
door to a new way of doing electronics. The team's measurements showed
that their graphene semiconductor has 10 times greater mobility than
silicon. In other words, the electrons move with very low resistance,
which, in electronics, translates to faster computing.
Carbon Nano-Tubes
Carbon Nanotube are allotropes of
carbon
with a cylindrical
nanostructure. These cylindrical carbon molecules have unusual properties,
which are valuable for nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other
fields of materials science and technology. Owing to the material's
exceptional strength and stiffness, nanotubes have been constructed with
length-to-diameter ratio of up to 132,000,000:1, significantly larger than
for any other material. Carbon nanotubes can be either metallic or
semiconducting along the tubular axis, and can be single-walled or
multi-wall tubes. Carbon nanotubes come in three types, configurations or
variants, which are Armchair, Zigzag and Chiral.
Carbon Nanotubes were created by accident.
Carbon Nanotubes are
20 times stronger then
steal.
Carbon Nanotubes are also a
semi-conductor. The thickness of a Carbon Nanotube is 1/1,000th
of a single strand of hair.
Batteries.
Optical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes refers to the absorption,
photoluminescence
(fluorescence), and Raman spectroscopy of carbon nanotubes. Spectroscopic
methods offer the possibility of quick and non-destructive
characterization of relatively large amounts of carbon nanotubes.
Nano-Tubes Built from Protein Crystals: Breakthrough in biomolecular
engineering. Researchers at Tokyo Tech have succeeded in constructing
protein nanotubes from tiny scaffolds made by cross-linking of engineered
protein crystals. The achievement could accelerate the development of
artificial enzymes, nano-sized carriers and delivery systems for a host of
biomedical and biotechnological applications.
Nanotubes Assemble!
Rice introduces Teslaphoresis Carbon nanotubes in a dish assemble
themselves into a nanowire in seconds under the influence of a
custom-built
Tesla coil
created by scientists at Rice University. Self Assembly phenomenon called
Teslaphoresis.
Buckminsterfullerene is a type of fullerene with the formula C60. It
has a cage-like fused-ring
structure (truncated
icosahedron) that resembles a
soccer ball, made of
twenty
hexagons and twelve
pentagons,
with a carbon atom at each vertex of each
polygon and a bond along each
polygon edge. A
buckyball is a molecule called Buckminsterfullerene.
Composed of
60 Carbon Atoms
formed in the shape of a hollow ball.
Buckminster Fullerene (C60) 1985
(wiki).
Bubbles.
Fullerene is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a
hollow sphere,
ellipsoid, tube, and many other shapes. Spherical fullerenes, also
referred to as Buckminsterfullerenes or
Bucky Balls,
resemble the balls used in association football. Cylindrical fullerenes
are also called
carbon nanotubes (buckytubes). Fullerenes are similar in
structure to
graphite, which is composed of
stacked graphene sheets of linked hexagonal rings. Unless they are
cylindrical, they must also contain pentagonal (or sometimes heptagonal) rings.
Bravais Lattice is an infinite
array (or a finite array,
if we consider the edges, obviously) of discrete points generated by a set
of discrete translation operations described in
three dimensional space.
Crystal Structure is a description of the ordered
arrangement of
atoms, ions or
molecules in a crystalline material. Ordered
structures occur from
the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric
patterns that repeat along the principal directions of
three-dimensional space in
matter.
Perovskite structure is any material with the same type of crystal
structure as
calcium titanium oxide.
Nano News -
Harvard
Nanoscale Heat Engine Beyond the Carnot Limit (Nano Engine made
from a Single Atom)
Institute for Integrative Nanosciences (IIN)
Jonathan Trent
Nano Hub
The Nano
Research
NanowerkNano.gov
Understanding
Nano
Oxygen Gas-Filled Micro-Particles Provide Intravenous Oxygen
Delivery
Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistor (wiki)
Utility Fog (wiki)
Gene Chip Analysis Microarray technology is a powerful tool for
genomic analysis. It gives a global view of the genome in a single
experiment.
DNA
Microarray, also commonly known as
DNA chip or
biochip, is a collection of microscopic DNA spots attached to a solid
surface. Scientists use DNA microarrays to measure the expression levels
of large numbers of genes simultaneously or to genotype multiple regions
of a genome
Positive
Curvature Nano-carbon (
ball)
- Zero Curvature (flat) - Negative curvature (schwartzites) -
Schwarzite is any of a family of analogs of
Graphene, having negative Gaussian curvature, that form
three-dimensional lattices.
Cheap, Small Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon Fiber -
Graphene
Nanoscale 'Conversations' Create Complex, Multi-Layered Structures New
technique leverages controlled interactions across surfaces to create
Self-Assembled Materials with unprecedented complexity.
How we're harnessing nature's hidden superpowers: Oded Shoseyov (video
and interactive text)
Nanocellulose nano-structured
cellulose. This may be either cellulose nanofibers
or CNF, also called microfibrillated cellulose or MFC, nanocrystalline cellulose
or NCC, or bacterial nanocellulose, which refers
to nano-structured cellulose produced by bacteria. CNF is a material
composed of nanosized cellulose fibrils with a high aspect ratio (length
to width ratio). Typical lateral dimensions are 5–20 nanometers and
longitudinal dimension is in a wide range, typically several micrometers.
Bio-Plastics.
Newly developed microlattices are lighter and 100 times stronger than
regular polymers.
Resilin
is an elastomeric protein found in many insects. It is part of what
enables insects of many species to jump or pivot their wings
efficiently. It was first discovered by Torkel Weis-Fogh in locust
wing-hinges. Nanocellulose with Resilin can make incredible
durable touch screens for smartphone.
Self Replicating Machines - Self Assembly
Self-Replicating Machine is a type of
autonomous robot that
is capable of
reproducing itself autonomously using raw materials found in
the environment, thus exhibiting self-replication in a way analogous to
that
found in nature, like with
snow flakes and
sea shells.
Spontaneous Generation -
Synchronicity -
Symmetry
Robot developed for Automated Assembly of designer Nano-Materials.
Engineers have developed a robot that can identify, collect, and
manipulate two-dimensional nanocrystals. The robot stacked nanocrystals to
form the most complex van der Waals heterostructure produced to date, with
much less human intervention than the manual operations previously used to
produce van der Waals heterostructures. This robot allows unprecedented
access to van der Waals
heterostructures, which are attractive for use in advanced
electronics.
Meta-Materials
-
Materials
New
Nanoparticle Superstructures made from Tetrahedral Pyramid-Shaped Building
Blocks.
Scientists Develop Proteins that Self-Assemble into supramolecular
complexes. Novel Artificial Protein Complexes Constructed from Protein
Nano-
Building
Blocks.
Physicists discover how particles self-assemble. Laws of nature can be
harnessed to create '
smart
materials'. A team of physicists has discovered how DNA molecules
self-organize into adhesive patches between particles in response to
assembly instructions. Its findings offer a 'proof of concept' for an
innovative way to produce materials with a well-defined connectivity
between the particles.
Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers -
Arrays (auto assembler) -
Folding Proteins
Assembly Theory is a framework for quantifying selection and
evolution. When applied to molecule complexity, its authors show it to be
the first technique that is experimentally verifiable, unlike other
molecular complexity algorithms that lack experimental measures.
Model shows how intelligent-like behavior can emerge from non-living
agents. A new model describes how biological or
technical systems
form complex structures equipped with
signal-processing capabilities that allow the systems to respond to
stimulus and perform functional tasks
without external guidance.
Little nanobots become self-organized and self-aware.
Swarm intelligence caused by physical mechanisms. Researchers studied
swarm behavior of
microswimmers. Seemingly spontaneously coordinated swarm behavior
exhibited by large groups of animals is a fascinating and striking
collective phenomenon. Experiments conducted on laser-controlled synthetic
microswimmers now show that supposed swarm intelligence can sometimes also
be the result of simple and generic physical mechanisms. A team of
physicists found that swarms of synthetically produced Brownian
microswimmers appear to spontaneously decide to orbit their target point
instead of heading for it directly.
How charged macromolecules self-assemble, dipole-dipole interactions
give life its shape. In a discovery with wide-ranging implications,
researchers recently announced that uniformly charged macromolecules -- or
molecules, such as proteins or DNA, that contain a large number of atoms
all with the same electrical charge -- can self-assemble into very large
structures. This finding upends our understanding of how some of life's
basic structures are built.
Stem Cells Organize Themselves into Pseudo-Embryos.
Simple bacteria found to organize in elaborate patterns. Researchers
have discovered that biofilms, bacterial communities found throughout the
living world, are far more advanced than previously believed. Scientists
found that biofilm cells are organized in elaborate patterns, a feature
that previously only had been associated with higher-level organisms such
as plants and animals.
Computer Scientists at Caltech create Reprogrammable Molecular Computing
System. They have designed DNA molecules that can carry out
reprogrammable computations, for the first time creating so-called
algorithmic self-assembly in which the same
"hardware" can be configured to run different "software."
Nucleation in thermodynamics is the first step in the formation of
either a new
thermodynamic phase or
structure via self-assembly or
self-organization within a substance or mixture. Nucleation is typically
defined to be the process that determines how long an observer has to wait
before the new phase or self-organized structure appears. For example, if
a volume of water is cooled (at atmospheric pressure) below 0 °C, it will
tend to freeze into ice, but volumes of water cooled only a few degrees
below 0 °C often stay completely free of ice for long periods (supercooling).
At these conditions, nucleation of ice is either slow or does not occur at
all. However, at lower temperatures nucleation is fast, and ice crystals
appear after little or no delay.
Cannibalistic Materials Feed on Themselves to Grow New Nanostructures.
Scientists have induced a two-dimensional material to cannibalize itself
for atomic 'building blocks' from which stable structures formed. The
findings provide insights that may improve design of 2-D materials for
fast-charging energy-storage and
electronic devices. After a monolayer MXene is heated, functional groups
are removed from both surfaces. Titanium and
carbon atoms migrate from
one area to both surfaces, creating a pore and forming new
structures.
Researchers quickly harvest 2-D Materials, bringing them closer to
commercialization. Efficient method for making single-atom-thick,
wafer-scale materials opens up opportunities in
flexible electronics.
Soft Robots that grow like plants. Engineers discover new process for
synthetic material growth. Soft robots can navigate hard-to-reach places
like pipes or inside the human body. Researchers have developed a new,
plant-inspired extrusion process that enables synthetic material growth,
and the creation of a soft robot that builds its own solid body from
liquid to navigate hard-to-reach places and complicated terrain.
Heterojunction is the interface that occurs between two layers or
regions of dissimilar crystalline semiconductors. These semiconducting
materials have unequal band gaps as opposed to a homojunction. It is often
advantageous to engineer the electronic energy bands in many solid-state
device applications, including semiconductor lasers,
solar cells and
transistors ("heterotransistors")
to name a few. The combination of multiple heterojunctions together in a
device is called a heterostructure, although the two terms are commonly
used interchangeably. The requirement that each material be a
semiconductor with unequal band gaps is somewhat loose, especially on
small length scales, where electronic properties depend on spatial
properties. A more modern definition of heterojunction is the interface
between any two solid-state materials, including crystalline and amorphous
structures of metallic, insulating, fast ion conductor and semiconducting materials.
Universal Constructor is a complex machine that is capable of
constructing both microscopic and macroscopic objects. Universal
Constructors rearrange substances on the molecular and atomic level, and
can essentially create any physical object in this way, including biological organisms.
Convergent Assembly is to make bigger things by assembling them from
smaller things.
Engineering Living ‘Scaffolds’ for Building Materials. Berkeley Lab
researchers take cues from nature to form living materials with
unprecedented control and versatility.
Automated 3D Bio-Assembly of Micro-Tissues for Bio-Fabrication of Hybrid
Tissue Engineered Constructs.
Researchers Automate MicroRobotic Designs using a method that requires
only a
3D Printer and 20 minutes.
Understanding interfaces of hybrid materials with machine learning.
Using
machine
learning methods, researchers can predict the structure formation of
functionalized molecules at the interfaces of hybrid materials. Now they
have also succeeded in looking behind the driving forces of this structure
formation. The production of nanomaterials involves self-assembly
processes of functionalized (organic) molecules on inorganic surfaces.
This combination of organic and inorganic components is essential for
applications in organic electronics and other areas of nanotechnology.
Fields.
Nanosized blocks spontaneously assemble in water to create tiny floating
checkerboards. Researchers have engineered nanosized cubes that
spontaneously form a two-dimensional checkerboard pattern when dropped on
the surface of water. The work presents a simple approach to create
complex nanostructures through a technique called self-assembly.
Self-Assembling system uses Magnets to mimic specific binding in DNA.
Physicists are using the binding power of magnets to design
self-assembling systems that potentially can be created in nanoscale form.
Designing with DNA. Software lets researchers create tiny rounded
objects out of
DNA: Here's why that's cool. Marvel
at the tiny nanoscale structures emerging from labs, and it's easy to
imagine you're browsing a catalog of the world's smallest pottery:
itty-bitty vases, bowls, and spheres. But instead of making them from
clay, the researchers designed these objects out of threadlike molecules
of DNA, bent and folded into complex three-dimensional objects. These
creations demonstrate the possibilities of a new open-source software
program.
DNA origami folded into tiny motor. First nanoscale electromotor
created using Frontera, Expanse, Anvil supercomputers. Scientists have
created a working nanoscale electomotor. The science team designed a
turbine engineered from DNA that is powered by hydrodynamic flow inside a
nanopore, a nanometer-sized hole in a membrane of solid-state silicon
nitride. The tiny motor could help spark research into future applications
such as building molecular factories or even medical probes of molecules
inside the bloodstream.
Shrinking hydrogels enlarge nanofabrication options. Intricate, 2D and
3D patterns printed. Researchers have
developed a strategy for creating ultrahigh-resolution, complex 3D
nanostructures out of various materials.
Smarticles Ensemble Experiment
Bacterial Factories could Manufacture high-performance Proteins for space
missions. Scientists report a new method that takes advantage of
engineered bacteria to produce spider silk and other difficult-to-make
proteins that could be useful during future space missions.
Nano Machines
Molecular Machine
or
nano-machine, is any discrete number of molecular components that
produce quasi-mechanical movements (output) in response to specific
stimuli (input). The expression is often more generally applied to
molecules that simply mimic functions that occur at the macroscopic level.
The term is also common in nanotechnology where a number of highly complex
molecular machines have been proposed that are aimed at the goal of
constructing a molecular assembler. Molecular machines can be divided into
two broad categories; synthetic and biological.
Tiny Machines
-
Micro-Electronics
Nanogenerator is a type of technology that
converts
mechanical/thermal energy as produced by small-scale physical change
into electricity. A Nanogenerator has three typical approaches:
piezoelectric, triboelectric, and pyroelectric nanogenerators. Both the
piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators can convert mechanical
energy into electricity. However, pyroelectric nanogenerators can be used
to harvest thermal energy from a time-dependent temperature fluctuation.
Nanogenerators are referred as a field that uses displacement current as
the driving force for effectively converting mechanical energy into
electric power/signal, disregarding if nanomaterials are used or not.
Miniaturization is the trend to
manufacture ever smaller
mechanical, optical and electronic products and devices. Examples include
miniaturization of mobile phones, computers and vehicle engine downsizing.
Small Homes.
Molecular Assembler is a "proposed device able to guide chemical
reactions by positioning reactive molecules with atomic precision". A
molecular assembler is a kind of molecular machine. Some biological
molecules such as ribosomes fit this definition. This is because they
receive instructions from messenger RNA and then assemble specific
sequences of amino acids to construct protein molecules. However, the term
"molecular assembler" usually refers to theoretical human-made devices. (diamondoid
nanofactory).
Bio-Mimicry.
Biochip
is a miniaturized laboratory
that can perform hundreds or thousands of simultaneous biochemical
reactions. Biochips enable researchers to quickly screen large numbers of
biological analytes for a variety of purposes, from disease diagnosis to
detection of bioterrorism agents.
Medical Sensors.
Molecular Biology concerns the molecular basis of
biological activity between
biomolecules in the various systems of a cell, including the interactions
between DNA, RNA and proteins and their biosynthesis, as well as the
regulation of these interactions. Writing in Nature in 1961.
Molecular Engineering is the design and testing of molecular
properties, behavior and interactions in order to assemble better
materials, systems, and processes for specific functions. This approach,
in which observable properties of a macroscopic system are influenced by
direct alteration of a molecular structure, falls into the broader
category of “bottom-up” design.
Biomolecular Engineering is the application of engineering principles
and practices to the purposeful manipulation of molecules of biological
origin. Biomolecular engineers integrate knowledge of biological processes
with the core knowledge of chemical engineering in order to focus on
molecular level solutions to issues and problems in the life sciences
related to the environment, agriculture, energy, industry, food
production, biotechnology and medicine.
Brownian Motor are nanoscale or molecular machines that use chemical
reactions to generate directed motion in space. The theory behind Brownian
motors relies on the phenomena of Brownian motion, random motion of
particles suspended in a fluid (a liquid or a gas) resulting from their
collision with the fast-moving molecules in the fluid. On the nanoscale
(1-100 nm), viscosity dominates inertia, and the extremely high degree of
thermal noise in the environment makes conventional directed motion all
but impossible, because the forces impelling these motors in the desired
direction are minuscule when compared to the random forces exerted by the
environment. Brownian motors operate specifically to utilise this high
level of random noise to achieve directed motion, and as such are only
viable on the nanoscale.
Programmable Matter is matter which has the ability to change its
physical properties (shape, density, moduli, conductivity, optical
properties, etc.) in a programmable fashion, based upon user input or
autonomous sensing. Programmable matter is thus linked to the concept of a
material which inherently has the ability to perform information processing.
World's first 'Molecular Robot' capable of Building Molecules.
Nanofactory is a proposed compact molecular
manufacturing system. (Self Replication).
Micro-Electrom-Mechanical Systems is the technology of microscopic
devices, particularly those with moving parts. It merges at the nano-scale
into nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) and nanotechnology. MEMS are
also referred to as micromachines in Japan, or micro systems technology
(MST) in Europe. MEMS are made up of components between 1 and 100
micrometers in size (i.e., 0.001 to 0.1 mm), and MEMS devices generally
range in size from 20 micrometres to a millimetre (i.e., 0.02 to 1.0 mm),
although components arranged in arrays (e.g., digital micromirror devices)
can be more than 1000 mm2. They usually consist of a central unit that
processes data (the microprocessor) and several components that interact
with the surroundings such as microsensors. Because of the large surface
area to volume ratio of MEMS, forces produced by ambient electromagnetism
(e.g., electrostatic charges and magnetic moments), and fluid dynamics
(e.g., surface tension and viscosity) are more important design
considerations than with larger scale mechanical devices. MEMS technology
is distinguished from molecular nanotechnology or molecular electronics in
that the latter must also consider surface chemistry.
Neural Networks.
Nano-Robotics is creating machines or robots whose
components are at or close to the scale of a nanometre.
Microbotics mobile robots with characteristic dimensions
less than 1 mm.
Micro-Robotics.
Swarmalation' used to design active materials for self-regulating soft
robots. Engineers have designed a system of self-oscillating flexible
materials that display a distinctive mode of dynamic self-organization. In
addition to exhibiting the swarmalator behavior, the component materials
mutually adapt their overall shapes as they interact in a fluid-filled
chamber. These systems can pave the way for fabricating collaborative,
self-regulating soft robotic systems.
Autonomous coupled
oscillations of two active sheets (youtube).
Nano-Bot can probe inside human cells. Magnetic 'tweezers' could help
diagnose and fight cancer.
Shape-morphing microrobots deliver drugs to cancer cells. Chemotherapy
successfully treats many forms of cancer, but the side effects can wreak
havoc on the rest of the body. Delivering drugs directly to cancer cells
could help reduce these unpleasant symptoms. Now, in a proof-of-concept
study, researchers have made fish-shaped
microrobots that are guided with magnets to cancer cells, where a
pH change triggers them to open their mouths and release their
chemotherapy cargo.
Robotic Sperm
are biohybrid microrobots consisting of sperm cells and artificial
microstructures.
Microgripper is
a microscopic device used to grasp and manipulate microscale objects
safely.
Robotics (robots) -
Micro-Mechanics.
Mechanosynthesis is a term for hypothetical chemical syntheses in
which reaction outcomes are determined by the use of mechanical
constraints to direct reactive molecules to specific molecular sites.
There are presently no non-biological chemical syntheses which achieve
this aim. Some atomic placement has been achieved with scanning tunnelling
microscopes.
Autodoping during the deposition of epitaxial Silicon layers from the gas
phase (I). Autodoping from the gas phase.
Utility Fog is a
hypothetical collection of tiny robots that can replicate a physical
structure. As such, it is a form of self-reconfiguring modular robotics.
Planting the seed for DNA nanoconstructs that grow to the micron scale.
Nanobiotechnologists have devised a programmable DNA self-assembly
strategy that solves the key challenge of robust nucleation control and
paves the way for applications such as ultrasensitive diagnostic biomarker
detection and scalable fabrication of micrometer-sized structures with
nanometer-sized features.
Nanobiotechnology are terms that refer to the intersection of
nanotechnology and
biology. Given
that the subject is one that has only emerged very recently,
bionanotechnology and nanobiotechnology serve as blanket terms for various
related technologies. This discipline helps to indicate the merger of
biological research with various fields of nanotechnology. Concepts that
are enhanced through nanobiology include: nanodevices (such as biological
machines), nanoparticles, and nanoscale phenomena that occurs within the
discipline of nanotechnology. This technical approach to biology allows
scientists to imagine and create systems that can be used for biological
research. Biologically inspired nanotechnology uses biological systems as
the inspirations for technologies not yet created. However, as with
nanotechnology and biotechnology, bionanotechnology does have many
potential ethical issues associated with it. A ribosome is a biological
machine. The most important objectives that are frequently found in
nanobiology involve applying nanotools to relevant medical/biological
problems and refining these applications. Developing new tools, such as
peptoid nanosheets, for medical and biological purposes is another primary
objective in nanotechnology. New nanotools are often made by refining the
applications of the nanotools that are already being used. The imaging of
native biomolecules, biological membranes, and tissues is also a major
topic for nanobiology researchers. Other topics concerning nanobiology
include the use of cantilever array sensors and the application of
nanophotonics for manipulating molecular processes in living cells.
Recently, the use of microorganisms to synthesize functional nanoparticles
has been of great interest. Microorganisms can change the oxidation state
of metals.[citation needed] These microbial processes have opened up new
opportunities for us to explore novel applications, for example, the
biosynthesis of metal nanomaterials. In contrast to chemical and physical
methods, microbial processes for synthesizing nanomaterials can be
achieved in aqueous phase under gentle and environmentally benign
conditions. This approach has become an attractive focus in current green
bionanotechnology research towards sustainable development.
Acoustic propulsion of nanomachines depends on their orientation.
Microscopically tiny nanomachines which move like submarines with their
own propulsion -- for example in the human body, where they transport
active agents and release them at a target: What sounds like science
fiction has, over the past 20 years, become an ever more rapidly growing
field of research. However, most of the particles developed so far only
function in the laboratory. Propulsion, for example, is a hurdle. Some
particles have to be supplied with energy in the form of light, others use
chemical propulsions which release toxic substances. Neither of these can
be considered for any application in the body. A solution to the problem
could be
acoustically propelled
particles. Johannes Voß and Prof. Raphael Wittkowski from the
Institute of Theoretical Physics and the Center for Soft Nanoscience at
the University of Münster (Germany) have now found answers to central
questions which had previously stood in the way of applying
acoustic propulsion. The results
have been published in the journal ACS Nano. Ultrasound is used in
acoustically propelled nanomachines as it is quite safe for applications
in the body.
Tiny Machines
Tiny machines are already living in Humans, Naturally. Humans also consist of
trillions of electrochemical machines that somehow
coordinate their intricate activities in ways that allow our
bodies and minds to function with the required reliability and
precision. 400 million
ribosomes could fit in a single period at the end of a sentence.
DNA.
Adenosine Triphosphate the "molecular unit of currency" of
intracellular
energy transfer.
Drew Berry: Animations of Unseeable Biology
(video)
Your
Amazing Molecular Machines (youtube, Veritasium)
Engineers develop first method for Controlling Nano-Motors with simple
Visible Light as the Stimulus.
Nano-Robot built entirely from DNA to explore cell processes.
Constructing a tiny robot from
DNA and using it to
study cell processes invisible to the naked eye... You would be forgiven
for thinking it is science fiction, but it is in fact the subject of
serious research. This highly innovative 'nano-robot' should enable closer
study of the mechanical forces applied at microscopic levels, which are
crucial for many biological and pathological processes.
Fantastic Voyage is a 1966 American science fiction film about a
submarine crew who shrink to microscopic size and venture into the body of
an injured scientist to repair the damage to his brain.
Molecular Machines -
Cell Communication
Microtubule are a component of the
cytoskeleton, found throughout the
cytoplasm. These tubular polymers of
tubulin
can grow as long as 50 micrometres and are highly dynamic. The outer
diameter of a microtubule is about 24 nm while the inner diameter is about
12 nm. They are found in eukaryotic cells, as well as some bacteria, and
are formed by the polymerization of a dimer of two globular proteins,
alpha and beta tubulin.
Janet Iwasa: How Animations can help Scientists Test a
Hypothesis (video)
Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis is a process by which
cells
absorb metabolites, hormones, other proteins - and in some cases viruses -
(endocytosis) by the inward budding of plasma membrane vesicles containing
proteins with receptor sites specific to the molecules being absorbed.
Films - Videos
The Human Robot - vpro backlight (youtube timeline 33 min.
mark)
Siddhartha Mukherjee: Soon we'll cure diseases with a cell, not
a pill (video)
This tiny particle could roam your body to find tumors - Sangeeta Bhatia (video
and Interactive Text)
Programming of Life - Intelligent Design or Evolution?
(youtube)
Drug-Delivering Micro-Motors treat their first Bacterial Infection in the
Stomach
Meet the Tiny Cellular Machines in Cells that Massacre Viruses by chopping
their genetic material into bits
Section 18.3Myosin: The Actin Motor Protein
Motor
Protein are class of
molecular motors that are able to move
along the surface of a suitable substrate. They convert
chemical energy
into mechanical work by the hydrolysis of
ATP. Flagellar rotation,
however, is powered by
proton
pump.
Kinesin
protein walking on microtubule (youtube)
Fantastic
Vesicle Traffic (youtube)
Protein
is synthesized by
ribosomes along the
Endoplasmic Reticulum, modified in the
Golgi apparatus and packaged into
vesicles.
A fresh look inside the Protein Nano-Machines. Proteins perform vital
functions of life, they digest food and fight infections and cancer. They
are in fact nano-machines, each one of them designed to perform a specific
task. A protein is a chain made of twenty different kinds of
amino acids
with elaborate interactions, and, unlike standard physical matter. The
blueprint for
protein synthesis is written in long
DNA genes, but we show
that only a small fraction of this huge information space is used to make
the functional protein.
Micromotors push around single cells and particles. A new type of
micromotor powered by ultrasound and steered by magnets can move around
individual cells and microscopic particles in crowded environments without
damaging them. In one demonstration, a micromotor pushed around silica
particles to spell out letters. Researchers also controlled the
micromotors to climb up microsized blocks and stairs, demonstrating their
ability to move over three dimensional obstacles.
Flagellar Motor is called the MotAB, which is a bacterial motor that powers bacterial chemotaxis.
Chemotaxis is the movement of an organism or entity in response to a
chemical stimulus. Chemotaxis is a versatile process that allows bacteria
to swim toward energy-rich molecules, find preferred niches for infection,
avoid harmful species, change speeds, and fully stop to form biofilms.
Chemotaxis requires a small motor to turn a flagellum—a hairlike appendage
on bacteria that spins to provide propulsion, like a boat motor. Rotating
the flagellum clockwise or counterclockwise at different rates allows
bacteria to move toward or away from different stimuli.
Flagellum is a
hairlike appendage that provides motility for a particular type of cell.
Certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores (zoospores), and
from a wide range of microorganisms have a flagellum that protrudes from
its outer shell. Many protists with flagella are known as flagellates.
Scientists build tiny biological robots from human cells. The
multicellular bots move around and help
heal wounds created in cultured neurons. Scientists have created tiny
moving biological robots from human tracheal cells that can encourage the
growth of neurons across artificial 'wounds' in the lab. Using patients'
own cells could permit growth of Anthrobots that assist healing and
regeneration in the future with no nead for immune suppression.
Plug and play Nanoparticles could make it easier to tackle various
biological targets. Engineers have developed modular nanoparticles that
can be easily customized to target different biological entities such as
tumors, viruses or toxins. The surface of the nanoparticles is engineered
to host any biological molecules of choice, making it possible to tailor
the nanoparticles for a wide array of applications, ranging from targeted
drug delivery to neutralizing biological agents.
Root Hair
is one of the fastest growing cells in the plant.
Machines that you swallow and then poop
out.
Pill-Cam minimally invasive tool that gives your doctor a
direct view of the inside of your colon.
Vital Sense -
Vitals
(physical health) -
Human Energy
Building Blocks of Life (cells) -
Self-Replicating Machine (dna)
Mass Produce Cell-Sized Robots about 10 micrometers across that could
be used for industrial or biomedical monitoring or to search out disease
while floating through the bloodstream. Syncells is short for synthetic
cells. Autoperforation.
Scientists build tiny biological robots from human cells. The
multicellular bots move around and help heal 'wounds' created in cultured
neurons. Scientists have created tiny moving biological robots from human
tracheal cells that can encourage the growth of neurons across artificial
'wounds' in the lab. Using patients' own cells could permit growth of
Anthrobots that assist healing and regeneration in the future with no nead
for immune suppression.
Living computers: RNA circuits transform cells into Nano-Devices.
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is used to create logic circuits capable of
performing various computations. In new experiments, Green and his
colleagues have incorporated RNA logic gates into living bacterial cells,
which act like tiny computers. Logic gates known as AND, OR and NOT were
designed. An AND gate produces an output in the cell only when two
RNA messages A AND B are present. An OR gate
responds to either A OR B, while a NOT gate will block output if a given
RNA input is present. Combining these gates can produce complex logic
capable of responding to multiple inputs. Using RNA toehold switches, the
researchers produced the first ribocomputing devices capable of four-input
AND, six-input OR and a 12-input device able to carry out a complex
combination of AND, OR and NOT logic known as disjunctive normal form
expression. When the logic gate encounters the correct RNA binding
sequences leading to activation, a toehold switch opens and the
process of translation to protein takes place. All of these
circuit-sensing and output functions can be integrated in the same
molecule, making the systems compact and easier to implement in a cell.
Mechanism of the
Toehold Switch (youtube)
Enzymes are like those Giant Robots. They grab one or two
pieces, do something to them, and then release them. Once their
job is done, they move to the next piece and do the same thing
again. They are little protein robots inside your cells. The
robot that was designed to move a car door can't put brakes on
the car. The specialized robot arms just can't do the job.
Enzymes are the same. They can only work with specific molecules
and only do specific tasks. Because they are so specific, their
structure is very important. If only one amino acid of the
enzyme is messed up, the enzyme might not work. It would be as
if someone unplugged one of the cords in a
robot.
Living Robots built into new Life-Form using Frog Cells. Tiny xenobots
assembled from cells promise advances from drug delivery to toxic waste
clean-up.
Xenobots are self-healing micro-robots. A xenobot is
a biological machine under 1 millimeter or 0.039 inches wide, small enough
to travel inside human bodies. They are made of skin cells and heart
cells, stem cells harvested from frog embryos. Xenobots are named after
the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis).
Bacteriophage pictured
above is a virus that infects and replicates
within a bacterium. Bacteriophages are composed of
proteins that
encapsulate a
DNA or RNA genome, and may have relatively simple or
elaborate structures. Their genomes may encode as few as four genes, and
as many as hundreds of genes.
Phages replicate within the bacterium
following the injection of their genome into its cytoplasm. Bacteriophages
are among the most common and diverse entities in the biosphere.
Tiny swimming robots treat deadly pneumonia in mice. Engineers have
developed microscopic robots, called
microrobots,
that can swim around in the lungs, deliver medication and be used to clear
up life-threatening cases of bacterial pneumonia. In mice, the microrobots
safely eliminated pneumonia-causing bacteria in the lungs and resulted in
100% survival. By contrast, untreated mice all died within three days
after infection.
Robotic drug capsule can deliver drugs to gut. A new drug capsule can
help large proteins such as insulin and small-molecule drugs be absorbed
in the digestive tract. The capsule has a robotic cap that spins and
tunnels through the mucus barrier when it reaches the small intestine,
allowing drugs carried by the capsule to pass into cells lining the
intestine.
Mystery solved about the Machines that move your Genes. Congestion
causes the mass of tubes and motors that form
chromosome-dividing spindles
to move at full speed instead of slowing to a crawl, new research reveals.
Fleets of microscopic machines toil away in your cells, carrying out
critical biological tasks and keeping you alive. The spindle divides
chromosomes in half during
Cell Division, ensuring that both offspring
cells contain a full set of genetic material. The spindle is made up of
tens of thousands of stiff, hollow tubes called microtubules connected by
biological motors. Microtubules are only propelled forward when connected
to a neighbor pointed in the opposite direction. Previous observations,
however, showed microtubules cruising at full speed even when linked only
to neighbors facing the same way. The microtubules are so entangled with
one another that even those not actively launched forward get dragged
along at full speed by the crowd. The findings will help scientists better
understand the cellular machinery that segregates
chromosomes during cell division and
why this process sometimes goes wrong. If a spindle does its job
incorrectly, it can introduce errors such as missing or extra chromosomes.
Microtubules are long, stiff polymer rods akin to drinking straws, each
with a 'minus' end and a 'plus' end. Molecular motors latch onto and move
along microtubules using a pair of molecular 'feet.'
Kinesin
motors, for instance, have two pairs of feet, one at either end.
Kinesin molecules can attach to two different microtubules, with each pair
of feet marching from the minus end to the plus end of each microtubule.
If the plus and minus ends of both microtubules are aligned, the two pairs
of feet walk in the same direction and the microtubules don't move
relative to one another. If the microtubules are anti-aligned, the feet
move in opposite directions, causing the microtubules to slide past one
another. The collective motion of all the microtubules determines the
spindle's growth and form. Their theory predicts that the microtubules
line up, with every microtubule facing one of two opposing directions.
Where microtubules of opposite orientation mingle, they are propelled
forward as expected. Microtubules elsewhere, the theory states, are so
entangled with their neighbors that they too are pulled along for the
ride. Every microtubule, therefore, moves at precisely the speed of the
walking motors regardless of its place in the crowd. Experiments conducted
by the researchers using microtubules and abundant kinesin motors matched
these predictions.
Films about Nano Technologies
Nano, the Next Dimension (youtube, 27:03)
Dr. Wade Adams: Nanotechnology and the Future of Energy (youtube, 30:41 )
FORA.tv Technology Season 2 Episode 16 | Aired: 10/25/2012
World's
Smallest Electric Motor: Sykes Group Tufts (youtube, 6:47)
Single
Atom Transistor (youtube, 2:52)
The Nano Revolution: More than Human (2012, 52:59)
Scanning Tunneling Microscope
Nanoremediation
Metallic
microlattice 'lightest structure ever' (youtube, 1 minute).
Metallic Microlattice
NanoCar Race, the first-ever race of Molecule-Cars (youtube)
Gary Greenberg: The Beautiful Nano Details of our World (youtube, 12:06)
Sizes - Scales
Size is the physical magnitude of something
that shows
how big something is or
how small something is, which depends
on your
frame of reference. Size is
the magnitude or the
dimensions
of a thing.
Size can be
measured as length, width,
height, diameter, perimeter, area, volume, or mass.
Scale of the Universe from Big to Small (youtube)
-
Scale of the Universe from Small to Big (youtube)
- Our
Universe is extremely
large but also extremely small.
Dimensions in Space -
Imaging Machines
-
Microscopes -
Microscopy -
Quantum Mechanics
Infinitesimal are things so small that there is no way to measure
them. The
Universe is not as big as
it is small. We have an
easier time measuring how big the Universe is than we do measuring how
small the Universe is.
Gravitational Constant.
Planck Length is
a unit of length, equal to 1.616229(38)×10−35 metres.
Femtometre is
an SI unit of length equal to 10−15 metres, which means a
quadrillionth of one. 1000 attometres = 1
femtometre = 1 fermi = 0.001 picometre = 1×10−15 metres. 1000000
femtometres = 10 ångström = 1 nanometre For example, the charge radius of
a
proton is approximately
0.84–0.87 femtometres while the radius of a gold nucleus is approximately
8.45 femtometres. 1 barn = 100 fm2.
Atomic
Scale is the size of
atoms
below one nanometer. Nanoscale is between one and one hundred nanometers,
and the atomic scale is below one nanometer.
Nanoscopic Scale refers to structures with a
length scale applicable
to nanotechnology, usually cited as 1–100
nanometers. A nanometer is a
billionth of a meter. The nanoscopic scale
is (roughly speaking) a lower bound to the mesoscopic scale for most
solids. For technical purposes, the
nanoscopic scale is the size at which
fluctuations in the averaged properties (due to the motion and behavior of
individual particles) begin to have a significant effect (often a few
percent) on the behavior of a system, and must be taken into account in
its analysis. The nanoscopic scale is sometimes marked as the point where
the properties of a material change; above this point, the properties of a
material are caused by 'bulk' or 'volume' effects, namely which atoms are
present, how they are bonded, and in what ratios. Below this point, the
properties of a material change, and while the type of atoms present and
their relative orientations are still important, 'surface area effects'
(also referred to as quantum effects) become more apparent – these effects
are due to the geometry of the material (how thick it is, how wide it is,
etc.), which, at these low dimensions, can have a drastic effect on
quantized states, and thus the properties of a material.
Scaling
is a linear transformation that enlarges (increases) or shrinks
(diminishes) objects by a
scale factor that is the same in all directions.
The result of uniform scaling is similar (in the
geometric sense) to the
original. A scale factor of 1 is normally allowed, so that congruent
shapes are also classed as similar. Uniform scaling happens, for example,
when enlarging or reducing a photograph, or when creating a scale model of
a building, car, airplane, etc.
Engineering Models -
Building to Scale -
Topography
Logarithmic
Scale is a nonlinear scale used when there is a large range of
quantities. Common uses include earthquake strength,
sound loudness, light intensity,
and pH of solutions. It is based on orders of magnitude, rather than a
standard
linear scale, so the value represented by each equidistant mark on the
scale is the value at the previous mark multiplied by a constant.
Logarithmic scales are also used in slide rules for multiplying or
dividing numbers by adding or subtracting lengths on the scales.
Scale as an analytical tool refers to the combination of (1) the level
of analysis (for example, analyzing the whole or a specific component of
the system); and (2) the level of observation (for example, observing a
system as an external viewer or as an internal participant). The scale of
analysis encompasses both the analytical choice of how to observe a given
system or object of study, and the role of the observer in determining the
identity of the system.
Overview
Effect -
Level
of Analysis
Spatial Scale is a specific application of the term scale for
describing or categorizing (e.g. into orders of magnitude) the size of a
space (hence spatial), or the extent of it at which a phenomenon or
process occurs.
Spatial Intelligence.
The True Size
helps visualize the size of countries.
Size Dependent Property is a physical
property that changes when the size of an object changes. Examples of size
dependent properties are Length, Width, Height, Volume, Mass.
Relevance.
Macroscopic Scale is the length scale on which objects or phenomena
are large enough to be visible almost practically with the naked eye,
without
magnifying optical
instruments. When applied to physical phenomena and bodies, the
macroscopic scale describes things as a person can directly perceive them,
without the aid of magnifying devices. This is in contrast to observations
(microscopy) or theories (microphysics, statistical physics) of objects of
geometric lengths smaller than perhaps some hundreds of micrometers. A
macroscopic view of a ball is just that: a ball. A microscopic view could
reveal a thick round skin seemingly composed entirely of puckered cracks
and fissures (as viewed through a microscope) or, further down in scale, a
collection of molecules in a roughly spherical shape. An example of a
physical theory that takes a deliberately macroscopic viewpoint is
thermodynamics. An example of a topic that extends from macroscopic to
microscopic viewpoints is histology.
Universe in a
Box - TNG300 - What the universe would look like if it were in a box
where you can visualize the universe in its entirety. What would be your
concept of time at that scale?
Magnitude in mathematics is the
size of a mathematical object, a
property by which the object can be compared as larger or smaller than
other objects of the same kind. More formally, an object's magnitude is an
ordering or ranking of the class of objects to which it belongs.
Power of 10 is any
of the integer powers of the number ten; in other words, ten multiplied by
itself a certain number of times (when the power is a positive integer).
By definition, the number one is a power (the zeroth power) of ten.
Order of Magnitude are written in powers of 10. For example,
the order of magnitude of 1500 is 3, since 1500 may be written as 1.5 ×
103.
Orders of Magnitude (numbers) (wiki).
Orders of Magnitude is a factor of ten. A quantity growing by
four orders of magnitude implies it has grown by a factor of 10,000 or
104. list of multiples, sorted by orders of magnitude, for digital
information storage measured in bits.
Orders
of Magnitude of
time is
usually a decimal prefix or decimal order-of-magnitude quantity together
with a base unit of time, like a
microsecond or a
million years.
In some cases, the order of magnitude may be implied (usually 1), like a
"second" or "year". In other cases, the quantity name implies the base
unit, like "century". In most cases, the base unit is seconds or years.
Prefixes are not usually used with a base unit of years. Therefore, it is
said "a million years" instead of "a mega year". Clock time and calendar
time have duodecimal or sexagesimal orders of magnitude rather than
decimal, i.e. a year is 12 months, and a minute is 60 seconds. The
smallest meaningful increment of time is the Planck time―the time light
takes to traverse the Planck distance, many decimal orders of magnitude
smaller than a second. The largest realized amount of time, based on known
scientific data, is the age of the universe, about
13.8 billion years—the time
since the Big Bang as measured in the cosmic microwave background rest
frame. Those amounts of time together span 60 decimal orders of magnitude.
Metric prefixes are defined spanning 10−24 to 1024, 48 decimal orders of
magnitude which may be used in conjunction with the metric base unit of
second. Metric units of time larger than the second are most commonly seen
only in a few scientific contexts such as observational astronomy and
materials science, although this depends on the author. For everyday use
and most other scientific contexts, the common units of minutes, hours
(3,600 s or 3.6 ks), days (86,400 s), weeks, months, and years (of which
there are a number of variations) are commonly used. Weeks, months, and
years are significantly variable units whose length depend on the choice
of calendar and are often not regular even with a calendar, e.g. leap
years versus regular years in the Gregorian calendar. This makes them
problematic for use against a linear and regular time scale such as that
defined by the SI, since it is not clear which version is being used.
Power Series
is an
infinite series of the
form.
Series in
mathematics is a
description of the operation of adding
infinitely many quantities,
one after the other, to a given starting quantity.
Quantum Scale -
Particles -
Atoms -
Molecules -
Particulate Matter
Universe -
Bytes (digital
sizes)
Angstrom
is a unit of length equal to 10−10 m (one ten-billionth of a
metre) or 0.1 nanometre. Its symbol is Å, a letter in the Swedish
alphabet.
Large Numbers -
Spatial Intelligence
Nanowires as Sensors in New Type of Atomic Force Microscope. A new type
of atomic force microscope (AFM) uses nanowires as tiny sensors. Unlike
standard AFM, the device with a nanowire sensor enables measurements of
both the size and direction of forces.
Atomic-Force Microscopy is a very-high-resolution type of scanning
probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of
fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical
diffraction limit.
Imaging Machines
-
Microscopes -
Microscopy
Diffraction-limited System is the resolution of an optical imaging
system – a
microscope,
telescope, or camera – can be limited by factors such as imperfections in
the lenses or misalignment.
World's Smallest Magnifying Glass, which focuses light a billion times
more tightly, down to the scale of single atom, which makes it
possible to see individual chemical bonds between atoms.
World’s smallest Radio Receiver has building blocks the size of 2 Atoms
The
Radio is made from
atomic-scale defects in diamond. Made from atomic scale imperfections in a
single piece of diamond crystal. The imperfections are the size of two
atoms. Electrons inside the imperfections are powered by green light. When
the electrons receive radio waves they convert them into red light. A
simple photodiode converts the light into current. Speakers convert the
current into sound just like a radio because of diamonds it can
withstand extreme temperatures and pressures.
A Diamond Radio
Receiver (youtube).
Moire Pattern is a secondary and visually evident superimposed pattern
created, for example, when two identical (usually transparent) patterns on
a flat or curved surface (such as closely spaced straight lines drawn
radiating from a point or taking the form of a grid) are overlaid while
displaced or rotated a small amount from one another.
What will be the next big scientific breakthrough? Eric Haseltine:
(video and interactive text).