Nanotechnology

With all of the technology that is being continuously introduced and used, it would only seem logical in our quest for a green world to apply some of the renewable energy efforts to this spectrum. That is exactly what some scientists are looking into with theirresearch on how nanotechnology can be used with lithium batteries. According to Science News, a report that will be published in International Journal of Nanomanufacturing asserts that "carbon nanotubes can prevent such batteries from losing their charge capacity over time." The batteries they are speaking of are the lithium-based batteries that are found in commonly used devices such as ... Read Full Story

1. Drexler comments on the Caltech work “Self-assembly of carbon nanotubes into two-dimensional geometries using DNA origami templates” This achievement is a milestone in framework-directed self assembly of composite nanosystems, a line of development that I’ve argued is a strategic direction in atomically precise fabrication — useful in itself, and as part of a technology platform for further progress. In self-assembling molecular machine systems, carbon nanotubes could serve as structural components that are orders of magnitude stiffer than biomolecules, and can also serve as moving parts, including low-friction linear and rotary bearings. The work is scalable to billions of units self assembled in parallel. ... Read Full Story

This is a follow up to a previous report on Rice University using strong acid to process carbon nanotubes on an industrial scale. MIT Technology Review reports on a new method for assembling carbon nanotubes has been used to create fibers hundreds of meters long. Individual carbon nanotubes are strong, lightweight, and electrically conductive, and could be valuable as, among other things, electrical transmission wires. But aligning masses of the nanotubes into well-ordered materials such as fibers has proven challenging at a scale suitable for manufacturing. By processing carbon nanotubes in a solution called a superacid, researchers at Rice University have made long fibers ... Read Full Story

Scientists from a number of departments at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have recently announced the development of a new structure, which combines the “talent” that DNA has for self-assembly with the amazing chemical and physical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNT). The nanoscale electronic devices could be the key element in finally devising a method that would allow for carbon nanotubes to be arranged within a small-scale electronic circuit. “This project is one of those great 'Where else but at Caltech?' stories,” Caltech associate professor of computer science, computation and neural systems, and bioengineering Erik Winfree says. He was one of the four ... Read Full Story

CHICAGO (Reuters) - In determining the safety of improbably small materials known as nanoparticles, special properties associated with some of the very smallest particles may be the key, scientists said on Sunday. Nanotechnology, the design and manipulation of materials thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair, has been hailed as a way to make strong, lightweight materials, better cosmetics and even tastier food. But scientists are only starting to look at the impact such tiny objects may have. Some studies suggest nano-sized objects may have different effects in the body than larger ones. Traditionally, a particle is deemed nano if ... Read Full Story