News tagged with metal atoms

Scientists evaluate different antimicrobial metals for use in water filters

Porous ceramic water filters are often coated with colloidal silver, which prevents the growth of microbes trapped in the micro- and nano-scale pores of the filter. Other metals such as copper and zinc have also been shown ...

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created May 24, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 1

How ion bombardment reshapes metal surfaces

To modify a metal surface at the scale of atoms and molecules — for instance to refine the wiring in computer chips or the reflective silver in optical components — manufacturers shower it with ions. ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created May 23, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Making microscopic machines using metallic glass

Researchers in Ireland have developed a new technology using materials called bulk metallic glasses to produce high-precision molds for making tiny plastic components. The components, with detailed microscopically patterned ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created May 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

'Copper pump's' potential benefit in cancer treatment

(Phys.org) -- A team of University of California, San Diego researchers has made new discoveries about a copper-transporting protein in the membranes of human cells that drug-discovery scientists can co-opt ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created May 17, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

In metallic glasses, researchers find a few new atomic structures

Drawing on powerful computational tools and a state-of-the-art scanning transmission electron microscope, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison and Iowa State University materials science and engineering researchers has ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created May 11, 2012 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (7) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Physicists show standard 'quasiparticle' theory breaks down at 'quantum critical point'

A new study this week finds that "quantum critical points" in exotic electronic materials can act much like polarizing "hot button issues" in an election. Reporting in Nature, researchers from Rice Univer ...

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 25, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Metal oxides hold the key to cheap, green energy

Harnessing the energy of sunlight can be as simple as tuning the optical and electronic properties of metal oxides at the atomic level by making an artificial crystal or super-lattice 'sandwich' says a Binghamton ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Apr 19, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (10) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

'Tunable' metal nanostructures for fuel cells, batteries and solar energy

(PhysOrg.com) -- For catalysts in fuel cells and electrodes in batteries, engineers would like to manufacture metal films that are porous, to make more surface area available for chemical reactions, and highly ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Apr 03, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

The origin of organic magnets

Electrical engineers are starting to consider materials made from organic molecules -- including those made from carbon atoms -- as an intriguing alternative to the silicon and metals used currently in electronic ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Mar 02, 2012 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Graphene is thinnest known anti-corrosion coating

New research has established the "miracle material" called graphene as the world's thinnest known coating for protecting metals against corrosion. Their study on this potential new use of graphene appears ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Feb 22, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (11) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Method that can validate nuclear collision models benefits IAEA

A novel technique for materials research is unexpectedly also contributing to the nuclear safety efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientist Dr. Weilin ...

Physics / General Physics

created Jan 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Metal oxide simulations could help green technology

(PhysOrg.com) -- University of California, Davis, researchers have proposed a radical new way of thinking about the chemical reactions between water and metal oxides, the most common minerals on Earth. Their work appears ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jan 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Mock atoms prove attractive: Researchers added first pseudo atoms to electronegativity scale

(PhysOrg.com) -- When studying an atom's ability to attract nearby electrons, scientists rely on electronegativity scales, which describe each atom's ability to pull in these negatively charged particles. ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jan 06, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (9) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

The smallest conceivable switch: Targeted proton transfer within a molecule

For a long time miniaturization has been the magic word in electronics. Dr. Willi Auwaerter and Professor Johannes Barth, together with their team of physicists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Dec 12, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers invent a switch that could improve electronics

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have invented a new type of electronic switch that performs electronic logic functions within a single molecule. The incorporation of such single-molecule elements could enable ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Dec 01, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (8) | comments 1 | with audio podcast