Home > News > Nanotechnology crop circles appear in Southern California!
September 20th, 2007
Nanotechnology crop circles appear in Southern California!
Abstract:
Just kidding - I always wanted to write a tabloid headline like that! In case you are expecting a story on the mysteries of crop circles caused by alien nanotechnology - stop reading right here; but the analogy is just too striking when you look at the amazing images coming out of the labs at the University of Southern California, where they developed a new technique to create three-dimensional carbon nanotube structures. While carbon nanotubes possess many exceptional properties which far exceed most known bulk materials, creating controlled nanotube (CNT) microstructures has always been a challenge. Overcoming this challenge is going to be key in developing useful and commercially viable CNT devices. Existing techniques for patterning three-dimensional CNT structures are based on the bottom-up growth of multiwalled CNTs (MWCNTs) from a patterned catalyst, which is limited to 2D-like geometries. Other, complex 3D microstructures have been fabricated with polymer-based resin materials but not with CNTs. The new technique developed by researchers in California uses a focused laser beam to selectively burn local regions of a dense forest of MWCNTs. This technique enables chemically sensitive fields to take advantage of nanotubes' exceptional properties and expand their possible applications into new areas.
Source:
nanowerk.com
Bookmark:
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals
Nanoparticle Delivers Large Protein Complex to Cancer Cell Nucleus May 20th, 2013
Protein 'Passport' Helps Nanoparticles Get Past Immune System May 20th, 2013
Nanoparticle Harnesses Powerful Radiation Therapy for Cancer May 20th, 2013
Microneedle-Delivered Nanoparticles Boost Antitumor Vaccines May 20th, 2013
Tools
Penn engineers' nanoantennas improve infrared sensing May 20th, 2013
Kinks and curves at the nanoscale: New research shows 'perfect twin boundaries' are not so perfect May 20th, 2013
NanoInk, Inc. Assets To Be Sold May 18th, 2013
Beautiful "flowers" self-assemble in a beaker: Elaborate nanostructures blossom from a chemical reaction perfected at Harvard May 17th, 2013
Human Interest/Art
Oh, Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree: A nano end for Christmas tree needles January 2nd, 2013
INIC Inks MoU to Apply Nanotechnology in Iran's Carpet Industry December 18th, 2012
IBN Welcomes Its First 9-Year-Old ‘Scientist’: IBN and Make-A-Wish Foundation Singapore Make Kidney Patient’s Dream Come True December 10th, 2012
The music of the silks: Researchers synthesize a new kind of silk fiber — and find that music can help fine-tune the material’s properties November 28th, 2012