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    Category Technology/Electronics

    Chemists combine Biology, Nanotechnology to create Alternate Energy Source

    March 1, 2016, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology, Biology/Biotechnology

    Photo of Nano-Bio System

    Photo of Nano-Bio System A schematic of the nano-biosystem (top) and an electron microscope image of quantum rods

    A transformational advance has been made in an alternate lighting source, one that doesn’t require a battery or a plug: high-efficient energy transfer between semiconductor quantum rods and luciferase enzymes. Quantum rods and luciferase enzymes are nanomaterials and biomaterials, respectively. When combined correctly, these materials produce bioluminescence – except, instead of coming from a biomaterial, such as a firefly enzyme, the light eminates from a nanomaterial, and is green, orange, red, or near-infrared in color.

    Each quantum rods is 4 nm wide and 50 nm long...

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    ‘Water Battery’: Charging Water by means of a Mini Water Bridge

    March 1, 2016, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    The water bridge pictured is formed under the influence of a high-voltage electrical field of about 15kV. It spans about 1 cm across two Teflon beakers, each filled with deionised water. Credit: © Woisetschläger/Fuchs - TU Graz.

    The water bridge pictured is formed under the influence of a high-voltage electrical field of about 15kV. It spans about 1 cm across two Teflon beakers, each filled with deionised water. Credit: © Woisetschläger/Fuchs – TU Graz.

    Wetsus in The Netherlands and TU Graz have produced electrically charged water by means of a floating water bridge. Until its scientific rediscovery in 2007 at TU Graz, the “water bridge” phenomenon, discovered in the 19th century, had sank into oblivion. If extremely pure water ie water distilled many times, is placed in 2 beakers and subject to a high voltage, the fluid moves up the side of each beaker and forms a floating water bridge between the 2 vessels...

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    Scientists are closer to solving the mystery of how Mars’ moon Phobos formed: Phobos in the mid- and far-ultraviolet

    March 1, 2016, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    Phobos as observed by MAVEN's Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph. Orange shows mid-ultraviolet (MUV) sunlight reflected from the surface of Phobos, exposing the moon's irregular shape and many craters. Blue shows far ultraviolet light detected at 121.6 nm, which is scattered off of hydrogen gas in the extended upper atmosphere of Mars. Phobos, observed here at a range of 300km, blocks this light, eclipsing the ultraviolet sky. Credit: CU/LASP and NASA

    Phobos as observed by MAVEN’s Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph. Orange shows mid-ultraviolet (MUV) sunlight reflected from the surface of Phobos, exposing the moon’s irregular shape and many craters. Blue shows far ultraviolet light detected at 121.6 nm, which is scattered off of hydrogen gas in the extended upper atmosphere of Mars. Phobos, observed here at a range of 300km, blocks this light, eclipsing the ultraviolet sky. Credit: CU/LASP and NASA

    At the end of 2015, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission made a series of close approaches to the Martian moon Phobos, collecting data from within 300 miles of the moon. Among the data returned were spectral images of Phobos in the ultraviolet...

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    Stretchable Electronics that Quadruple in length

    February 29, 2016, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    Intrinsically stretchable biphasic gold–gallium thin films. A) False color scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) image of a slightly tilted cross-section of the biphasic gold–gallium film on a PDMS substrate. The blue, yellow and gray colors correspond to the PDMS substrate, the biphasic AuGa2/Ga film, and a gallium bulge in the background, respectively. Scale bar: 500 nm. B) False color SEM image of the surface of the biphasic gold–gallium film. The yellow and gray colors correspond to the AuGa2/Ga film and the liquid Gallium, respectively. Color mask was obtained from backscattered electron detector (BSE) image. Scale bar: 5 μm. C) X-ray diffraction pattern of a biphasic gold–gallium film deposited on a PDMS substrate clearly indicating the position of the peaks corresponding to AuGa2 intermetallic compound (ICDD PDF Card 01-072-5268). Inset: the increase in baseline signal around 35° is attributed to liquid gallium. D) Picture of a biphasic gold–gallium film patterned by photolithography with critical dimension of 100 μm on a 40 μm thick poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) elastomer membrane. Scale bar: 5 mm; Inset scale bar: 500 μm. E) Stretchable multilayered matrix of green surface mounted light emitting diodes interconnected and powered through biphasic gold–gallium conductors. Scale bar: 15 mm. Inset: the LEDs are interconnected with two biphasic conductor planes; scale bar: 2 mm.

    Intrinsically stretchable biphasic gold–gallium thin films. A) False color scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) image of a slightly tilted cross-section of the biphasic gold–gallium film on a PDMS substrate. The blue, yellow and gray colors correspond to the PDMS substrate, the biphasic AuGa2/Ga film, and a gallium bulge in the background, respectively. Scale bar: 500 nm. B) False color SEM image of the surface of the biphasic gold–gallium film. The yellow and gray colors correspond to the AuGa2/Ga film and the liquid Gallium, respectively. Color mask was obtained from backscattered electron detector (BSE) image. Scale bar: 5 μm...

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