Nanotechnology
Reduce fuel consumption in vehicles
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 | Nanotechnology | No Comments
Mechanical engineers in UK have developed a novel hybrid engine which can save fuel consumption by 25 %. That’s a good news in times when we need to save fuel where oil prices are soaring high but there is something even more interesting. This engine can switch from 2- stroke to 4- stroke and vice-versa !
I have already told in earlier posts that nanotechnology have novel properties because of its small size. Same applies here. The engine size is reduced such that it causes less friction. This is a good research by automobile experts but still making it commercialized and upto mass production needs perfection. More details here.
Durable laptop batteries
Friday, April 18th, 2008 | Nanotechnology | No Comments
New research articles show that we will soon be using more durable cell phone and laptop batteries. We surely need an alternative battery to conventional lithium-ion batteries. Technology review came up with a research article on using a new composite type battery that will have better storage and can store energy 30% more. Also the scientists have commercialized this new battery.
The current batteries overheat too much on use and can even burst but this new batteries can efficiently resist heating. In short, they have replaced the electrodes of lithium-ion batteries with other durable and novel property possessing materials. For more details on this research, check it out here.
Internal body details magnified 1000 times
Friday, April 11th, 2008 | Nanotechnology | No Comments
In human medical research, the tiny parts unable to be seen even by electron microscopy can now be seen. This is based on Raman spectroscopy.
Nanoparticles (just like nano gold shell) will be injected in the body. These nanoparticles injected in the body will act as beacons (as signal receivers !). A laser beam will be emitted on this nanoparticles from outside the body as a result these nanoparticles will send signals which can be used to study the parts inside at that spot. So once gain the advantage of nano size is taken to study internal structure to understand human body more accurately. This way, body organs can be magnified as much as by 1000 times !
More detailed information can be found at this science daily research article.
64 GB mobile storage for $200
Saturday, April 5th, 2008 | Nanotechnology | No Comments
Nanotechnology has been giving us REALITY illusions (yeah, they prove to be true ! ) in advance. Too much. But we have to agree that they are true. It is predicted that by 2011, we would have 64 GB cell phones storage chips, 64 GB means = 55 bollywood films (lol). Not storage, but price is interesting. Currently it costs $500 for 32 GB memory chip but at that time (2011), price would be $200 only, that too for 64 GB. The current growth rate is 100% / 12-18 months. Means, storage is getting doubled for any storage device in time frame of 12-18 months. That’s true, just see first memory chips of cell phones and latest ones. Also you will get memory chips of size 1 sq. cm storing as much as 64 GB or more. That’s like having laptop and desktop storages in palm tops.
Anyway, at that time laptop storages would be in 1000 GB’s. 
Electron travel 100 times faster in graphene
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 | Nanotechnology | No Comments
Science daily has got another research article which shoes that electrons travel 100 times faster in graphene than in silicon. Graphene is currently the only semi-conductor element which has so much electron mobility at room temperature. So this opens doors to graphene replacing silicon chips. I have already written about this in my earlier post. Graphene is not much new than graphite, the one in your pencil. The carbon atoms in graphite are in single sheet type. Also graphene has 35 % less resistivity than copper metal at room temperature. Silicon as i said earlier is limited (the special grade needed) and we are developing PC’s at fast pace and we need something that can replace silicon chips in computers and other devices using semi-conductors. Also graphene doesn’t heat as much as silicon, rather to say that it cools faster than silicon which heats up much
Plastic solar cells in future ?
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 | Nanotechnology | No Comments
We badly need an alternative source of pollution free energy to meet our day to day plus increasing development needs. Mineral oil reserves are estimated to last upto 2020 and coal upto 220 years more. So its not much far and it makes me go mad seeing the petrol and oil prices that would be 2018-2019. How many thousand dollars per barrel ? Leave oil prices, but just think how much pollution it will create. A day without electricity and oil is unimaginable. Though we are going fast in field on alternate sources like solar cells and even mass production of biodiesel, but especially talking about solar energy, it is currently expensive to produce as the metals and special grade silicon used to convert solar energy into electricity is very much less and expensive (silver is used in solar panels). Solar cells have less efficiency in converting solar energy into electricity.
Here is what science daily has come up with an article regarding future scopes of having plastic solar cells having higher efficiency than current solar cells plus cheap (that’s something we badly need). Currently just a research is conducted and results look positive at nanoscale with lots of limitations but they are solving that at nanoscale. But using it for practical means is still a big question. They have tried to raise the efficiency of plastic solar cells to 5.1 % from 3.4 % .
Nanorings
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 | Nanotechnology | No Comments
So its not only carbon nanotubes and Bucky balls but now nanorings. As buckyballs and carbon nanotubes have multiple uses in nanotechnology, same way in short time nano rings will be a base for many nano research just as buckyballs and nanotubes are today. I got this research article at science daily . I suppose nanorings are made from view point of DNA structure and nano researchers have worked hard to create such rigid structure, hats off to you. I still feel that not many people are aware of the potential that nanotechnology and genetics possess. They better know it, or they will repent.
Magnetism in gold, silver and copper
Friday, March 7th, 2008 | Nanotechnology | No Comments
Nanotechnology has been opening doors of interesting researches and various new fields. Now, how about the fact that magnetism in non-magnetic elements like gold,copper and silver and also possibly in near future other noble metals (gold,silver,platinum,etc.). Science daily has another such research article. Research conducted by scientists from Australia, japan have shown that these metals at nanometer shown magnetism in normal conditions also. But fact is that, it is at nanoscale (2 nm). This fact again proves one of my previous article that nanotechnology plays by different rules, means nanotechnology has altogether different properties which may not be even seen at micro or macro level. The properties and phenomenons which a substance or metal exhibits at nano level is altogether different at macro, micro level. By complex techniques, scientists have shown magnetism in extremely non-magnetic metals like silver, but at nanolevel only till now.
Nanotoxic can be extremely fatal
Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 | Nanotechnology | 1 Comment
If anyone thinks that nanotechnology is such a field that will shower mankind with all impossible benefits (i do), then he/she got to really think on this matter that nanotoxic can be very dangerous and fatal to humans. This is one reason scientists fear to experiment nanoscience and other nano systems. If any nanotoxic, any nanomaterial or nanometal, nanochemicals enters the body, then it is almost impossible to get it removed and it can even take our life.
Nanotoxic is so tiny to notice but it has relatively huge effect.
Alternative to silicon chips in computers
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 | Nanotechnology | 1 Comment
Though silicon (commonly known as sand!) is one of the most available element on earth but for making silicon chips, you need a special grade of silicon which is limited on earth. The computer industry is using a lot of silicon to make silicon chips for processors but time has come when we are surely going to fact its scarcity in near future. We need an alternative to silicon chips if we want to maintain still those high speed computers at home in near future.
But walter de heer,a physicist at Georgia tech university as said that graphene can be used as an alternative to silicon and graphene will provide more faster speeds than silicon chips. Graphene is the same material (lead-Pb) found in your office desk pencils. That can be used as replacement in future instead of silicon. Graphene will be arranged in orderly manner on a single chip for use in computer. A lot of research is still needed and modification in graphene. You can’t simply use that black lead instead of silicon. It will be modified and then come to use. Still not sure, but its future is promising at least.
The problem with silicon chips is that it can do a limited processing per second due to heating but graphene transistors can do much more because they have no resistance. Also heat generated in graphene is comparatively much much less than silicon and graphene can ebb out the heat much faster than silicon,while in silicon if overheating happens, it takes time to cool down. Graphene is sure promising in areas where ultrafast transistors are needed. Carbon nanotubes are also sheets of graphene in cylindrical structure.