Month: October 2000

from the dilated-to-meet-you dept.
Anonymous Coward writes "From Eureka Alert: Key to the pore size changes are photoacid molecules that self-assemble and uniformly incorporate into a periodic nanostructure. A light shone on these molecules breaks them apart to form an acid that causes silica to solidify locally. The amount of solidification, which necessarily shrinks pore sizes to create the denser material, is proportional to the amount of light shone on the membrane." The paper itself is in Science (registration required).

from the can-I-get-in-convenient-spray-can-form? dept.
JohnPierce writes "A EurekAlert! news release describes how Virginia Tech researchers from physics, chemistry, and chemical engineering are working with a local company to create self-assembled thin film solar cells. 'This photovoltaic device is created without the use of toxic solvents or expensive instruments and under ambient conditions.'"

from the this-trick-is-done-with-wires dept.
GinaMiller alerted us to a Georgia Tech press release describing a study of the electronic properties of silicon nanowires. [Full article requires PRL subscription.] "Large-scale simulations of silicon nanowires just several atoms in diameter have given device designers new clues about how these nanometer-scale devices will one day perform. The work provides a basis for anticipating how the quantum mechanical effects that dominate behavior of materials at this size scale will alter the operation of future generations of electronic devices."