Mar 15, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Scientists from Sandia National Laboratories have announced a tiny, electronic device that can shunt excess electricity within a few billionths of a second while operating at a record-breaking 6,400 volts — a significant step towards protecting the nation’s electric grid from an electromagnetic pulse. The...
New color catalog aids hunt for life on frozen worlds
Mar 15, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Aided by microbes found in the subarctic conditions of Canada’s Hudson Bay, an international team of scientists has created the first color catalog of icy planet surface signatures to uncover the existence of life in the cosmos. As ground-based and space telescopes get larger and...
The immune system is very complicated, but now, it’s on a chip
Mar 15, 2022 (Nanowerk News) To quote veteran science writer Ed Yong’s simple yet extremely accurate words in The Atlantic, “The immune system is very complicated.” As the COVID-19 pandemic had made abundantly clear, science still doesn’t fully understand the sophisticated defense mechanisms that protect us from microbe invaders. Why...
Nanoparticles increase yield in recycling wind turbine blades
Mar 15, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A group of researchers from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) and the Lithuanian Energy Institute proposed a method for wind turbine blades’ recycling (Fuel, "Catalytic pyrolysis kinetic behaviour of glass fibre-reinforced epoxy resin composites over ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst"). Using pyrolysis, they broke the composite materials...
Changing the handedness of molecules
Mar 15, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Molecules that have the ability to change their structure in response to a chemical or physical stimulus are called ‘responsive molecules’. This type of molecule plays an important role in signal transduction at the nanoscale. The typical time profile of a structural change of a...
Nanoplastics should be included in existing regulatory frameworks
Mar 15, 2022 (Nanowerk News) The regulation of plastics has emerged as a significant science-policy challenge, initiated by growing societal concerns regarding plastic pollution. A specific focus is now on nanoplastics, i.e., plastic particles smaller than 1000 nanometres in size. The need to include nanoplastics in existing regulatory frameworks arises...
Smart coatings in the pipeline
Mar 15, 2022 (Nanowerk News) An imaginative approach to polymer surface coating has produced a sustainable way to remove mercury from water – while providing a wide range of protection including for preventing metal corrosion and solvent damage of plastic PVC pipes. The smart coating, made from low-cost chemicals from...
Models for molecules show unexpected physics (w/video)
Mar 14, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Small spheres suspended in a liquid move enough like molecules that the physics for one can be used to mimic the physics of the other. That’s why the discovery of some unusual physics in colloids -- particles dispersed in a solution such as milk, for...