Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

The image above depicts a new device for surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy. Infrared light (the white beams) is trapped by tiny gaps in the metal surface, where it can be used to detect trace amounts of matter. Credit: University at Buffalo.

Scientists searching for traces of drugs, bomb-making components and other chemicals often shine light on the materials they’re analyzing.This approach is known as spectroscopy, and it involves studying how light interacts with trace amounts of matter. One of the more effective types of spectroscopy is infrared absorption spectroscopy, which scientists use to sleuth out performance-enhancing drugs in blood samples and tiny particles of explosives in the air.

While infrared absorption spectroscopy has improved greatly in the last 100 yea...

Inverted battery design as ion generator for interfacing with biosystems. Nature Communications, 2017; 8: 15609 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15609

Engineers at the University of Maryland have invented an entirely new kind of battery. It is bio-compatible because it produces the same kind of ion-based electrical energy used by humans and other living things. In our bodies, flowing ions (sodium, potassium and other electrolytes) are the electrical signals that power the brain and control the rhythm of the heart, the movement of muscles, and much more.

In traditional batteries the current of electrons out of the battery is generated within the battery by moving positive ions from one end (electrode) of a battery to the other. The new UMD battery does the opposite...

Highly elastic polyrotaxane-polyacrylic acid polymers hold together silicon microparticles as they expand and contract while charging and discharging. Credit: Adapted from Jang Wook Choi and colleagues

Scientists have reported a molecular pulley binder for high-capacity silicon anodes of lithium ion batteries. Silicon anodes are receiving a great deal of attention from the battery community. They have 3~5-times higher capacities compared with those using current graphite anodes in lithium ion batteries. A higher capacity means longer battery use per charge, which is particularly critical in extending the driving mileage of all-electric vehicles...

1.The board game Save the Planet is an open source, cooperative game that is adaptable and customizable, making it an educational tool that grows with kids and enables creative freedom with everything from its “Good Deeds” cards to personalized game play figurines. The total cost with both 2-D and 3-D printing came to $2.89. 2. Legos

Cheap, plastic toys – no manufacturer necessary. The 2020 toy and game market is projected to be $135 billion, and 3D printing brings those profits home. People have scoffed that 3D printers are simply toys themselves. But they probably didn’t realize how much money is made off playthings...