Aug 01, 2023 (Nanowerk News) The potential of an ultrafast form of transmission electron microscopy to measure sound waves in nanostructures has been demonstrated by three RIKEN physicists (Nano Letters, "Characterizing an optically induced sub-micrometer gigahertz acoustic wave in a silicon thin plate"). This could help realize a high-resolution imaging...
Predicting early cancers with molecular vibration in serum
Jul 31, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Cancer, a leading cause of death worldwide is typically diagnosed at an advanced stage when survival rates are low. Most early-stage cancers are asympotmatic, and tranditional methods such as imaging or histopathological testing are not feasible as routine screening tests for the general population due...
Can rainbows monitor the environment?
Jul 31, 2023 (Nanowerk News) New nanotechnology may make it easier to identify the chemical composition of impurities and their geometrical shape in samples of air, liquid and live tissue. Using conventional testing techniques, it can be challenging - sometimes impossible - to detect harmful contaminants such as nano-plastics, air...
When electrons slowly vanish during cooling
Jul 31, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Many substances change their properties when they are cooled below a certain critical temperature. Such a phase transition occurs, for example, when water freezes. However, in certain metals there are phase transitions that do not exist in the macrocosm. They arise because of the special...
Engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
Jul 31, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Two of humanity's most ubiquitous historical materials, cement and carbon black (which resembles very fine charcoal), may form the basis for a novel, low-cost energy storage system, according to a new study. The technology could facilitate the use of renewable energy sources such as solar,...