News tagged with atomic scale

Watching an electron being born

Atomic processes take place on extremely short time scales. Measurements at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) can now visualize these processes.

Physics / General Physics

created May 15, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1

Billard game in an atom: Physicists trace the double ionization of argon atoms on attosecond time scales

(Phys.org) -- When an intense laser pulse interacts with an atom it generates agitation on the micro scale. A rather likely outcome of this interaction is single ionization, where one electron is ejected from ...

Physics / General Physics

created May 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

First atomic-scale real-time movies of platinum nanocrystal growth in liquids

They won't be coming soon to a multiplex near you, but movies showing the growth of platinum nanocrystals at the atomic-scale in real-time have blockbuster potential. A team of scientists with the Lawrence ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Apr 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Electron microscopy inspires flexoelectric theory behind 'material on the brink'

Electron microscopy, conducted as part of the Shared Research Equipment (ShaRE) User Program at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has led to a new theory to explain intriguing properties in a material ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Apr 13, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

First-ever images of atoms moving in a molecule captured

Using a new ultrafast camera, researchers have recorded the first real-time image of two atoms vibrating in a molecule.

Physics / General Physics

created Mar 07, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (22) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Researchers revolutionize electron microscope

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have revolutionised the electron microscope by developing a new method which could create the highest resolution images ever seen.

Physics / General Physics

created Mar 05, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (19) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Scientists use LCLS to see photovoltaic process in action

(PhysOrg.com) -- A surprising atomic-scale wiggle underlies the way a special class of materials reacts to light, according to research that may lead to new devices for harvesting solar energy.

Physics / General Physics

created Feb 29, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Microscopy reveals 'atomic antenna' behavior in graphene

Atomic-level defects in graphene could be a path forward to smaller and faster electronic devices, according to a study led by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Jan 31, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

'Nanowiggles:' Scientists discover graphene nanomaterials with tunable functionality in electronics

Electronics are getting smaller and smaller, flirting with new devices at the atomic scale. However, many scientists predict that the shrinking of our technology is reaching an end. Without an alternative ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Jan 04, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Researchers measure nanometer scale temperature

Illinois researchers have developed a new kind of electro-thermal nanoprobe that can independently control voltage and temperature at a nanometer-scale point contact. It can also measure the temperature-dependent ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Dec 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

When will artificial molecular machines start working for us?

Physicist Richard Feynman in his famous 1959 talk, "Plenty of Room at the Bottom," described the precise control at the atomic level promised by molecular machines of the future. More than 50 years later, synthetic molecular ...

Chemistry / Other

created Nov 25, 2011 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (6) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Fundamental discovery casts enzymes in new light

Just as a breeze causes leaves, branches and ultimately the tree to move, enzymes moving at the molecular level perform hundreds of chemical processes that have a ripple effect necessary for life. Protein complexes are often ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 08, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 clones!

Xi-Jun Ren and Yang Xiang from Henan Universities in China, in collaboration with Heng Fan at the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have produced a theory for a quantum cloning machine able to produce ...

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 04, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Narrowest bridges of gold are also the strongest, study finds

At an atomic scale, the tiniest bridge of gold -- that made of a single atom -- is actually the strongest, according to new research by engineers at the University at Buffalo's Laboratory for Quantum Devices.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Jul 13, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cat litter to become an edible product?

Sepiolite is a lightweight porous mineral used in cat litter and other applications. The extraordinary properties of this clay make it a highly sought after mineral, despite its scarcity in the Earth's crust: ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Jul 12, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 3 | with audio podcast