New spectroscopic tool to be useful in nanotech

from the machines-the-size-of-molecules dept.
Mark Baltzegar writes "Chemists at the University of Illinois have added an important new dimension to vibrational spectroscopy: a spectroscopic technique that allows researchers to investigate vibrational energy redistribution in molecules with unprecedented detail. 'Our spectroscopic method allows us to monitor vibrational energy flow through a molecule on femtosecond time scales. We can therefore characterise the dynamic mechanical properties of molecules in real time — which is important in virtually every chemical process and of special interest in the field of nanotechnology, where machines will be the size of molecules.'" Emphasis added. –CP