Modern telecommunications happens because of fast electrons and fast photons. Can it get better? Can Moore's law—the doubling of computing power ever 18 months or so—be sustained? Can the compactness (nm-scale components) ...
Nanophysics
Feb 5, 2013
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Optical fibers are rapidly replacing electrical wires as the primary medium for sending digital information over long distances. Without suffering from interference, pulses of light travelling along these thin strands of ...
Optics & Photonics
Jan 16, 2013
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(Phys.org)—Plasmonic gold nanoparticles make pinpoint heating on demand possible. Now Rice University researchers have found a way to selectively heat diverse nanoparticles that could advance their use in medicine and industry.
Nanomaterials
Jan 3, 2013
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(Phys.org)—From petroleum refining to food processing, the vast majority of commercial chemical applications involve catalysts to control the rate of chemical reactions. Anything that can increase the efficiency of catalysts ...
One-atom-thick sheets of carbon—known as graphene—have a range of electronic properties that scientists are investigating for potential use in novel devices. Graphene's optical properties are also garnering attention, ...
Nanophysics
Dec 5, 2012
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Semiconductors have revolutionized computing because of their efficient control over the flow of electrical currents on a single chip, which has led to devices such as the transistor. Working towards a similar tunable functionality ...
Nanomaterials
Dec 5, 2012
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A Northwestern University research team has found a way to manufacture single laser devices that are the size of a virus particle and that operate at room temperature. These plasmonic nanolasers could be readily integrated ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 5, 2012
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Just as gardeners can use 'growth lamps' to stimulate plant growth, materials scientists can now promote uniform growth of decahedron-shaped silver nanoparticles while they are in solution. These 10-faced solids, only tens ...
Nanophysics
Oct 10, 2012
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(Phys.org)—Electronic noses are used to sniff out exhaust fumes and assist with quality control of foods. Less well known is the fact that equivalent devices, electronic tongues, are capable of recognizing dissolved substances. ...
Analytical Chemistry
Sep 28, 2012
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(Phys.org)—An international, Harvard-led team of researchers have demonstrated a new type of light beam that propagates without spreading outwards, remaining very narrow and controlled along an unprecedented distance. This ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 7, 2012
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