U of Cincinnati Researchers Shatter World Records with 18mm Long Carbon Nanotube Arrays

UC researchers (in conjunction with First Nano, a division of CVD Equipment Corporation of Ronkonkoma, New York) have produced extremely long CNT arrays (18 mm) on their EasyTube System using a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process. “First, we were able to grow the arrays up to 18 mm,” he says, ticking off the achievements. “Second, …

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New material Nanobuds are buckyballs fused to Nanotubes

(left) Two transmission electron microscope images of a single-walled carbon nanotube with fullerenes attached to its surface (right) A fullerene/SWNT hybrid structure – a NanoBud. Credit: Esko Kauppinen, et al. Researchers have created a hybrid carbon nanomaterial that merges single-walled carbon nanotubes and spherical carbon-atom cages called fullerenes. The new structures, dubbed NanoBuds because they …

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Microbial fuel cells generate power from waste water

Generating electricity from renewable sources will soon become as easy as putting a brush and a tube in a tub of wastewater. A carbon fiber, bottle-brush anode developed by Penn State researchers will provide more than enough surface for bacteria to colonize, for the first time making it possible to use microbial fuel cells for …

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1-nanometer resolution is NSF CAREER researcher’s goal for optical imaging

Success on this project would make it far cheaper and easier to see and work at near-molecular nanotech levels. “The resolution of most optical microscopes is restricted by the so-called ‘diffraction limit,’ which means we cannot produce optical images with resolutions higher than a few hundred nanometers,” Xu said. “Currently, the most advanced optical microscope …

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Update on Pan Starrs- Asteroid detector

Four 71-inch mirrors gathering light for Pan-STARRS would each be hooked up to what would be the four largest digital cameras ever built. The system would be able to survey the entire sky once a week, and would be able to detect asteroids as small as 1,000 feet across. They face opposition from environmentalists who …

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Climate reengineering

The new age of climate re-engineering and the $25 million bounty from Richard Branson is discussed at open the future. It is noted that the re-engineering efforts would have the best chance of succeeding if we adjust technology and behavior to stop making the problems worse. Gregory Benford’s proposal for climate re-engineering is discussed at …

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China shutting smallest and worst coal plants

Worldwatch indicates that China has a program for shutting down its smallest, oldest and most polluting and inefficient coal plants It is a small step in the right direction. The State Council, China’s parliament, recently endorsed a plan to accelerate closure of the nation’s smaller coal-fired power plants. The plan is to close the small …

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Breakthrough Diabetes one injection cures mice for four months

From Biosingularity, and Canada’s National post, word of breakthrough near cure for diabetes In a discovery that has stunned even those behind it, scientists at a Toronto hospital say they have proof the body’s nervous system helps trigger diabetes, opening the door to a potential near-cure of the disease that affects millions of Canadians. The …

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World’s Fastest Optical Chip

Infinera packs dozens of optical components onto photonic integrated circuits for ultrafast optical networks. fourteen 100-gigabit photonic integrated circuits sitting in a plastic carrier for performance testing The company has demonstrated a 400-gigabit chip and is well along in the development of what it describes as the fastest optical chip in the world–a 1.6-terabit version …

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Clinical trials in 2007 for nanoparticle cancer treatment

The first in a new generation of nanotechnology-based cancer treatments will likely begin clinical trials in 2007, and if the promise of animal trials carries through to human trials, these treatments will transform cancer therapy. One of these new approaches places gold-coated nanoparticles, called nanoshells, inside tumors and then heats them with infrared light until …

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Military nanotechnology book

Jürgen Altmann has written a book “Military Nanotechnology: Potential Applications and Preventive Arms Control” which has an abstract at this link. From the abstract:Military R&D of NT is beginning to expand, with the USA far in the lead. Arguments for such R&D stress the increased military capabilities expected from NT; risks from military applications – …

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