Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: nanotechnology – Page 57

Nano-Oscillators Reveal the Hidden Dance of Light and Matter Like Never Before

Using levitating nanospheres trapped in laser beams, they can observe how matter behaves in ways never seen before. This breakthrough could help unravel the mysteries of the quantum world.

Exploring the Boundary Between Classical and Quantum Worlds

A recent study published in the scientific journal Optica introduces a groundbreaking experimental device that bridges the gap between classical and quantum physics. This innovative instrument enables researchers to observe and study phenomena from both realms simultaneously. Developed in Florence, the device is the result of a collaborative effort within the National Quantum Science and Technology Institute (NQSTI). It involves experts from the University of Florence’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, the National Institute of Optics (CNR-INO), the European Laboratory for Nonlinear Spectroscopy (LENS), and the Florence branch of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN).

Nature-inspired nanotechnology acts as body’s own courier service for genetic medicines

A large research team led by nanotechnologist Roy van der Meel rebuilt the body’s own proteins and fats into nano-delivery vans that get genetic medicines to exactly the right place in the body. In a joint effort with researchers from Radboudumc, they worked for five years on this nanotransport system, the results of which were published in Nature Nanotechnology.

With his rugged beard and signature lumberjack shirt, nanotechnologist Roy van der Meel seems to have walked straight out of a Canadian forest hut instead of a high-tech lab. In Canada, Van der Meel did indeed work as a postdoc for Professor Pieter Cullis, founder of the nanotechnology used for messenger RNA vaccines. Five years ago, he exchanged Vancouver for a spot in Eindhoven. Professor Willem Mulder brought Van der Meel to TU/e because of his RNA nanotechnology expertise.

Diseases that are currently difficult to cure, such as certain cancers and , can benefit from genetic drugs based on RNA. But then we must be able to get those medicines to the right place and that turns out to be a huge task.

Researchers used AI to build groundbreaking nanomaterials lighter and stronger than titanium

The research team, led by Professor Tobin Filleter, has engineered nanomaterials that offer unprecedented strength, weight, and customizability. These materials are composed of tiny building blocks, or repeating units, measuring just a few hundred nanometers – so small that over 100 lined up would barely match the thickness of a human hair.

The researchers used a multi-objective Bayesian optimization machine learning algorithm to predict optimal geometries for enhancing stress distribution and improving the strength-to-weight ratio of nano-architected designs. The algorithm only needed 400 data points, whereas others might need 20,000 or more, allowing the researchers to work with a smaller, high-quality data set. The Canadian team collaborated with Professor Seunghwa Ryu and PhD student Jinwook Yeo at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science & Technology for this step of the process.

This experiment was the first time scientists have applied machine learning to optimize nano-architected materials. According to Peter Serles, the lead author of the project’s paper published in Advanced Materials, the team was shocked by the improvements. It didn’t just replicate successful geometries from the training data; it learned from what changes to the shapes worked and what didn’t, enabling it to predict entirely new lattice geometries.

Electrons Frozen Yet Free: A Quantum Breakthrough in Graphene

Graphene is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a single layer of atoms in a two-dimensional hexagonal lattice in which one atom forms each vertex. It is the basic structural element of other allotropes of carbon, including graphite, charcoal, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes. In proportion to its thickness, it is about 100 times stronger than the strongest steel.

Study demonstrates phase-tunable spin-wave-mediated mutual synchronization of spin Hall nano-oscillators

Spin Hall nano-oscillators (SHNOs) are nanoscale spintronic devices that convert direct current into high-frequency microwave signals through spin wave auto-oscillations. This is a type of nonlinear magnetization oscillations that are self-sustained without the need for a periodic external force.

Theoretical and simulation studies found that propagating spin-wave modes, in which spin waves move across materials instead of being confined to the auto-oscillation region, can promote the coupling between SHNOs.

This coupling may in turn be harnessed to adjust the timing of oscillations in these devices, which could be advantageous for the development of neuromorphic computing systems and other spintronic devices.

Life as a cascade of machines making machines: Living matter framework extends from atomic scale to entire biosphere

Living matter remains the quintessential puzzle of biological sciences, a question that embodies the intricate complexity and stunning diversity of life forms. A new study suggests that one viable approach to address this extreme complexity is to conceptualize living matter as a cascade of machines producing machines.

This cascade illustrates how cells are composed of smaller submachines, reaching down to the where molecular machines, such as ion pumps and enzymes, operate. In the other direction, it explains how cells self-organize into larger systems, such as tissues, organs, and populations, cumulating into the biosphere.

This new conceptual framework is a fruit of collaboration between Professors Tsvi Tlusty from the Department of Physics at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea, and Albert Libchaber from the Center for Physics and Biology at Rockefeller University, New York. The study was inspired by the seventeenth-century polymath Gottfried Leibniz, who noted that “the machines of nature, that is living bodies, are still machines in their smallest parts, to infinity.”

Molecular Motors and Machines

The structural design of molecular machines and motors endows them with externally controlled directional motion at the molecular scale. Molecular machines based on both interlocked and non-interlocked molecules and driven by a variety of external stimuli such as light, electrical-or thermal energy, and chemical-or redox processes have been reported. With the field moving forward, they were incorporated into surfaces and interfaces to realize amplified directional molecular motion at the nanoscale which can be applied in the control of macroscopic material properties. More recently, molecular motors and molecular machines based on interlocked molecules have been organized into three dimensional materials to expand their functionality in the solid state and enrich their applicability.

Gecko Feet Inspire New Non-Slip Polymer That Sticks to Ice

A solution to injuries from slips and falls may be found underfoot — literally. The footpads of geckos have hydrophilic (water-loving) mechanisms that allow the little animals to easily move over moist, slick surfaces. Researchers in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces report using silicone rubber enhanced with zirconia nanoparticles to create a gecko-inspired slip-resistant polymer. They say the material, which sticks to ice, could be incorporated into shoe soles to reduce injuries in humans.

Slips and falls account for more than 38 million injuries and 684,000 deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization. And nearly half of these incidents happen on ice. Current anti-slip shoe soles rely on materials such as natural rubber that repel the layer of liquid water that sits atop pavement on a rainy day. On frozen walkways, however, shoe soles with these materials can cause ice to melt because of pressure from the wearer, creating the slippery surface the shoes are supposed to protect against.

Previous studies of gecko feet have led to new ideas for developing more effective anti-slip polymers. Those works found that their footpad’s stickiness comes from hydrophilic capillary-enhanced adhesion: The force of water being drawn into narrow grooves in the footpad creates suction that helps the lizard navigate slippery surfaces. Vipin Richhariya, Ashis Tripathy, Md Julker Nine and colleagues aimed to develop a polymer with capillary-enhanced adhesion that works on rainy sidewalks and frozen surfaces.

Nanoscale ‘diamond rings’ provide unconventional giant ’magnetoresistance‘ for the development of new quantum devices

In recent years, technological advancements have made it possible to create synthetic diamonds that have similar physical and chemical properties to natural diamonds. While synthetic diamonds are not considered “fake” or “imitation,” they are often more affordable than their natural counterparts, making them a popular choice for those who want the beauty of a diamond without the high cost. Synthetic diamonds are also often more environmentally friendly, as they do not require the same level of mining and extraction as natural diamonds.

In its pristine state, diamond is a non-conductive material, devoid of or “holes” that can facilitate electrical conduction (Figure 1). However, by introducing into the diamond crystal lattice, its optical and electrical properties can be significantly altered. As the concentration of boron is increased, the diamond’s color shifts from its characteristic clear hue to a delicate shade of blue, while its electrical conductivity transforms from an insulator to a semiconductor.

Further increases in the boron content result in a lustrous blue shade that resembles the sheen of metallic surfaces and eventually culminates in a deep, ebony coloration. Such heavily boron-doped diamond (BDD) is also as electrically conducting as some metals, and at , exhibits superconductivity, allowing electrical conduction with no resistance.

Light-twisting materials created from nano semiconductors could be a game-changer for optics

Cornell scientists have developed a novel technique to transform symmetrical semiconductor particles into intricately twisted, spiral structures—or “chiral” materials—producing films with extraordinary light-bending properties.

The discovery, detailed in a paper in the journal Science, could revolutionize technologies that rely on controlling light polarization, such as displays, sensors and optical communications devices.

Chiral materials are special because they can twist light. One way to create them is through exciton-coupling, where light excites nanomaterials to form excitons that interact and share energy with each other. Historically, exciton-coupled chiral materials were made from organic, carbon-based molecules. Creating them from inorganic semiconductors, prized for their stability and tunable optical properties, has proven exceptionally challenging due to the needed over nanomaterial interactions.

/* */