Nanomachines are plagued by their short lifespans and the looming chaos in the environment. This group at TUM used a new tubular design made from DNA to keep the machine together, but the chaos out. Continue reading Submicroscopic Pistons Open a New Chapter for Nanomachines
A new type of ultrawhite paint could help keep buildings cooler and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Continue reading Ultrawhite Rooftops Could Help Cool the Planet
Engineers at MIT have developed the blackest material to date by growing carbon nanotubes on an aluminum surface. The treated aluminum structure additionally has improved electrical properties and the synthesis process can be easily scaled for a number of applications. Continue reading Back in Black: The New Blackest Material
Colonies of social insects are capable of self-organizing and accomplishing complex tasks through individual interactions. For example, to march across large gaps, ants grip the bodies of each other, forming a living bridge that allows the colonies to reach the other side. Inspired by this swarm behavior of ants, scientists from the Chinese University of Hong Kong developed a nanoparticle self-assembly system that can fix … Continue reading ‘Ant bridge’-inspired nanoparticle assembly fixes broken electrical circuits
Nanowires are thin structures measuring 0.000000001 meters in diameter, which is so thin that they essentially behave as if they only have one-dimension. This one-dimensional nature gives nanowires a ton of interesting electrical and magnetic properties, which are super useful in electronics and medical devices, especially as they are getting smaller and smaller. Nanowires can be made from a number of different materials. The grey columns in this … Continue reading Nanowires
If you have a smartphone or a camera with you, take a look at its lenses right now. The next time you buy a phone, these bulky lenses may no longer be there. A team of scientists at Harvard University has developed a single, flat lens with the potential to do all the job needed for getting a great image. This type of flat lens … Continue reading Smart and Thin: A single, Flat Lens to Replace Many
IBM scientists use microscopy methods to create an “impossible” carbon molecule, triangulene. Triangulene is made of 6 carbon rings with two unpaired electrons roaming about. While triangulene has not been fully characterized at this point, the unpaired electrons have aligned spin, making this molecule a prime candidate for applications in quantum computing and other fields. Continue reading Researchers at IBM create triangulene, a magnetized molecule with unknown potential
Modern society is built on portable electronics, and with these power-hungry pieces of technology comes the need for convenient charging. To mitigate the need to find power outlets, a team at the University of Central Florida, lead by Jayan Thomas, created a ribbon which both harvests solar energy and stores it within a single unit. Remarkably, the technology is able to be woven with other … Continue reading Charging your cell phone through your shirt
Microscopy images above show two model diatom species: Thalassiosira pseudonana (left) and Phaeodactylum tricornutum (right). If you live in Boston, nanofactories of sophistication well beyond anything the human race has come up with are just a Charles River away. Diatoms (seen in the images above) are unicellular photosynthetic microalgae that can be found in freshwater and marine environments worldwide. These tiny creatures have plastids with … Continue reading Diatoms: Nature’s nanotechnologists