http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Graphene — a single layer of carbon atoms packed in a hexagonal lattice — has a number of appealing properties owing to its two-dimensional geometry. It has, for one thing, good electrical conductivity that is of interest to high-speed electronic applications. Seng Ghee Tan at the A*STAR Data Storage Institute and co-workers at the National University of Singapore have now shown that graphene has additional applications in magnetic data storage. They have developed a method to measure magnetic fields by detecting changes in the electrical resistance of graphene. “The findings could open up new avenues in the development of miniaturized magnetic field sensors,” says Tan. http://phys.org/news264241507.html Nanotechnology Wed, 15 Aug 2012 09:25:20 EST news264241507 (Phys.org) -- Squashed nanotubes may be ripe with new possibilities for scientists, according to a new study by Rice University. http://phys.org/news259481915.html Nanotechnology Thu, 21 Jun 2012 07:18:51 EST news259481915 (PhysOrg.com) -- While many labs are trying to efficiently synthesize large two-dimensional sheets of graphene, a team of researchers from Sweden and the UK is investigating the synthesis of very thin strips of graphene just a few atoms wide. In contrast to graphene, these graphene nanoribbons have a unique electronic structure including a non-zero band gap, which makes them promising candidates for semiconductor applications. But, as with graphene sheets, one of the greatest challenges for now is finding a way to efficiently synthesize these graphene nanoribbons. http://phys.org/news235281992.html Nanotechnology Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:40:01 EST news235281992 Physicists from Umea University have found an efficient way to synthesize graphene nanoribbons directly inside of single-walled carbon nanotubes. The result was recently published in the scientific journal Nano Letters. http://phys.org/news235203257.html Nanotechnology Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:14:44 EST news235203257 (PhysOrg.com) -- As far back as the 1990s, long before anyone had actually isolated graphene – a honeycomb lattice of carbon just one atom thick – theorists were predicting extraordinary properties at the edges of graphene nanoribbons. Now physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), and their colleagues at the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, and other institutions, have made the first precise measurements of the "edge states" of well-ordered nanoribbons. http://phys.org/news224055710.html Nanotechnology Sun, 08 May 2011 13:00:31 EST news224055710 In recent years, topological insulators have become one of the hottest topics in physics. These new materials act as both insulators and conductors, with their interior preventing the flow of electrical currents while their edges or surfaces allow the movement of a charge. http://phys.org/news216885838.html Nanotechnology Mon, 14 Feb 2011 06:40:01 EST news216885838 (PhysOrg.com) -- Electronic components based on graphene could render our current silicon-based electronics obsolete. Graphene, a more recently discovered form of carbon, consists of two-dimensional sheets of aromatic six-membered carbon rings in a honeycomb arrangement. In contrast to extended graphene layers, narrow graphene nanoribbons have semiconducting properties and could thus be candidates for electronic applications. http://phys.org/news216393158.html Nanotechnology Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:13:10 EST news216393158 In the recent issue of Nature, European scientists from Empa and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research report how they have managed for the first time to grow graphene ribbons that are just a few nanometres wide using a simple surface-based chemical method. Graphene ribbons are considered to be "hot candidates" for future electronics applications as their properties can be adjusted through width and edge shape. http://phys.org/news198933750.html Nanotechnology Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:00:21 EST news198933750 (PhysOrg.com) -- When most of us hear the word 'defect', we think of a problem that has to be solved. But a team of researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) created a new defect that just might be a solution to a growing challenge in the development of future electronic devices. http://phys.org/news189245010.html Nanotechnology Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:04:16 EST news189245010 (PhysOrg.com) -- A bizarre substance predicted to shrink electronics and give quantum physicists a new tabletop toy behaves pretty much as its designers expected. http://phys.org/news183837204.html Nanotechnology Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:54:17 EST news183837204 Scientists at Rice University have found a simple way to create basic elements for aircraft, flat-screen TVs, electronics and other products that incorporate sheets of tough, electrically conductive material. http://phys.org/news159022294.html Nanotechnology Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:52:42 EST news159022294