Mechanical Stimuli tagged posts

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered a new sensory organ that is able to detect painful mechanical damage, such as pricks and impacts. The discovery is being published in the journal ‘Science’.

Pain causes suffering and results in substantial costs for society. Almost one person in every five experiences constant pain and there is a considerable need to find new painkilling drugs. However, sensitivity to pain is also required for survival and it has a protective function...

Changes in colors emitted through mechanochromism a) When the blue crystal in emission was ground at the center, the color turned yellow. b) A round filter paper thinly coated with blue mechanochromic molecules in emission. The yellowish letters “Au” appeared after scratching the surface with a spatula. Credit: Image courtesy of Hokkaido University

In mechanochromism, certain solid and liquid crystalline materials change their photoluminescence properties upon mechanical stimulation, such as grinding, ball-milling and crushing. Although such compounds have attracted much attention with hopes of various applications, it has heretofore been thought difficult to synthesize mechanochromic compounds with desired emission properties and behaviors as each molecule emits different color.

A tea...