From: Gina Miller (nanogirl@halcyon.com)
Date: Wed Sep 18 2002 - 03:07:40 MDT
The Nanogirl News
September 18, 2002
Nanotech funding bill in the wings. On Tuesday, the Oregon Democrat is
planning to introduce a bill and convene a hearing to spur the development
of nanotechnology by spending more government money on early-stage research.
A summary of the bill seen by CNET News.com says it will establish a
"National Nanotechnology Research Program" to coordinate federal efforts in
the area and balance research objectives with ethical and societal concerns.
It will spend about $446 million, with a portion of that to come from
existing money located elsewhere in the federal budget. Last year, the
government spent $463 on nanotechnology. (Cnet 9/16/02)
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-958089.html?tag=cd_mh
Nanotubes could reduce CO2 emissions. A team led by scientists at Carnegie
Mellon University said Monday that carbon nanotubes, which are straw-like
structures with walls a single atom thick, could filter gases much more
quickly than current systems. The atoms of carbon nanotubes are arranged so
that they offer practically no friction to passing gas molecules, said David
Sholl, a professor of chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon. Such smooth
surfaces mean the tubes theoretically can transport gas through a membrane
at rates that are orders of magnitude greater than current microporous
substances used in gas separation, Sholl told United Press International.
(UPI 9/16/02)
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20020916-044639-9775r
Photographs capture the sheer beauty of science. The 2002 Visions of Science
Awards, backed by The Daily Telegraph and Novartis, the pharmaceutical and
health-care company, celebrate the best in science, medical and veterinary
photography. As well as bringing science to life, they highlight how the
natural, and unnatural, world can be transformed through the lens of a
camera or scanning electron microscope. Winner: Nanotechnology by Coneyl Jay
uses computer-generated imagery to look forward to the day when microscopic
machines roam through the body taking samples for tests. (Telegraph.co.uk
9/17/02)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$FDWZRWKSPBHSDQFIQMGCFF
4AVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2002/09/17/nphot17.xml&sSheet=/news/2002/09/17/ixnewsto
p.html
Researchers Create Rare, Large Symmetrical Crystals Accident Leads to
Important Discovery. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in
Troy, N.Y., have created large symmetrical crystals that rarely occur in
nature. These crystals could be harder than conventional engineering
materials. The accidental discovery was made during attempts to make
superconducting nanostructures with a simple technique used to create carbon
nanotubes.
(Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 9/16/02)
http://www.rpi.edu/web/News/press_releases/2002/ajayancyrstal.html
New computer system solves problems by tricking computers. A Virginia Tech
researcher has come up with a computer technology he calls 'Weaves' that
allows a programmer to use a code in any programming language and convert it
to a form similar to object-oriented programming. Weaves technology is used
to create a virtual world that tricks the software into thinking it is in
the real world. (Eurekalert 9/16/02)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-09/vt-ncs091602.php
Nimble Nanoswitch May Win Info Relay Race. Nanosize devices may be getting
their own ultra-small version of a component that few electronic gadgets can
function without: the switch. We have performed a theoretical analysis of a
carbon nanotube-based nanoelectromechanical switch," Swedish researchers
Tomas Nord, Susanne Viefers and Jari Kinaret revealed in a new paper. The
publication provides the first-ever blueprint for a nanorelay made from
microscopic carbon tubules -- a switching device that may one day prove
critical to nanotechnology. (Yahoo 9/13/02)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=75&ncid=75&e=13&u=/nf/20020
913/tc_nf/19400
Samsung Dives Into the Nano Pool. Chipmaker Samsung Monday said it is
shifting its business strategy of its Memory Business Division by shrinking
the size of some of its semiconductors to the nanometer (define) level. The
South Korea-based company, whose semiconductor division is located in San
Jose, California, introduced a state-of-the-art 90-nanometer process
technology along with the successful pilot production of a 2Gbit NAND Flash
memory device using the 90-nanometer design. (SiliconValley internet.com
9/16/02)
http://siliconvalley.internet.com/news/article.php/1464321
Nanomix nets $9M in second funding round. Emeryville-based nanotechnology
component developer Nanomix Inc. earned $9 million in a Series B round of
financing through Apax Partners and Sevin Rosen Funds.
(San Francisco Business Times 9/16/02)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2002/09/16/daily7.html
Nanotechnology expected to extend Moore's Law. Moore's Law will get a new
lease on life through this decade because of nanotechnology, the Intel
Developers Forum was told on Thursday. Sunlin Chou, senior vice president
and head of Intel's Technology and Manufacturing group, said new materials
and chip structures possible with nanotechnology will continue the doubling
of transistor count on die every 24 months that Moore postulated decades
ago. "The people who think Moore's Law will end assume that materials and
structures won't change. They are constantly changing and will keep Moore's
Law going for a lot longer," he said. (EE Times 9/13/02)
http://www.electronicstimes.com/tech/news/OEG20020912S0039
Massachusetts bested California in a high-tech state-by-state comparison
released today by an economic think tank, findings that may reflect changing
dynamics among small tech's leading regions. Although the analysis by the
Milken Institute doesn't focus on small tech specifically, certain
categories used in the comprehensive analysis are particularly relevant to
micron and nanoscale technologies and their potential to boost state
economies. (Small Times 9/17/02)
http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=4628
Nano-Welding Creates Tiny Junctions. Researchers have discovered how to weld
together single-walled carbon nanotubes, pure carbon cylinders with
remarkable electronic properties. The discovery could pave the way for
controlled fabrication of molecular circuits and nanotube networks. Pulickel
Ajayan, professor of materials science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
in Troy, N.Y., and his colleagues in Germany, Mexico, the U.K., and Belgium
used irradiation and heat to form the welded junctions. This is the first
time single-walled nanotubes have been welded together, although
multi-walled nanotubes with junctions previously have been created using
growth techniques. The electrical properties of single-walled nanotubes
surpass those of multi-walled tubes, which is why so many researchers have
been anxious to try this experiment, said Ajayan. (RPI 9/16/02)
http://www.rpi.edu/web/News/press_releases/2002/ajayanwelding.html
The Right Stuff for Super Spaceships. Tomorrow's spacecraft will be built
using advanced materials with mind-boggling properties. What I'm really
looking for," you say to the salesman, "is a car that goes at least 10,000
miles between fill-ups, repairs itself automatically, cruises at 500 mph,
and weighs only a few hundred pounds." As he stands there wide-eyed, you
add, "Oh yeah, and I can only spend about a quarter of what these other cars
cost." Impossible? Before you answer, consider how a rancher from 200 years
ago might have reacted if a man had asked to buy a horse that could run 100
mph for hours on end, carry his entire family and all their luggage, and
sing his favorite songs to him all the while! Today we call them minivans.
Revolutions in technology--like the Industrial Revolution that replaced
horses with cars--can make what seems impossible today commonplace tomorrow.
Such a revolution is happening right now. Three of the fastest-growing
sciences of our day--biotech, nanotech, and information technology--are
converging to give scientists unprecedented control of matter on the
molecular scale. Emerging from this intellectual gold-rush is a new class of
materials with astounding properties that sound more at home in a science
fiction novel than on the laboratory workbench. -streaming audio- (Science
Nasa 9/16/02)
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/16sep_rightstuff.htm?list433924
Jupitermedia Corporation (Nasdaq: JUPM) (formerly INT Media Group) today
announced the re-launch of NanotechPlanet.com as NanoelectronicsPlanet.com
(http://www.nanoelectronicsplanet.com) - the first Web site devoted to
in-depth coverage of the nanoelectronics industry. The company also
announced the launch of Nanoelectronics Planet Conference & Expo, which will
be held November 18-19, 2002 in New York City. (Stockhouse Australia
9/17/02)
http://www.stockhouse.com/news/news.asp?tick=JUPM&newsid=1287045
Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc. (CNI) [profile] today announced that it has
developed an improved form of single-wall carbon nanotubes. The
BuckyPearl(TM) form of single-wall carbon nanotubes can be handled more
easily in extruders and other polymer-processing equipment that directly
blends single-wall carbon nanotubes with polymers and other materials for a
variety of end uses. "This is a significant advance in the development of
carbon nanotechnology," said Ron Liotta, senior vice president of CNI.
"BuckyPearl single-wall carbon nanotubes are easier to process, yet retain
the extraordinary performance properties of Buckytubes. Several of our
industrial partners are testing the material in a variety of applications."
(Nano Investor News 9/16/02)
http://www.nanoinvestornews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=782c
Nanotech's grand challenge: energy self-sufficiency, says von Ehr.
"Nanotechnology needs a 'grand challenge' project, and energy
self-sufficiency is one that would pay huge benefits to both the USA and the
world," says James R. von Ehr II, President & CEO of Zyvex Corp. He
presented this idea at the recent White House Economic Forum, which brought
together leaders from various sectors to discuss the fundamentals of the
economy and the President's agenda to increase economic growth for the
future. (KurzweilAI.net 9/11/02)
http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html?main=news_single.html?id%3D1241
Hyperion Catalysis International is not like most other nanotechnology
companies. First, it's old, at least by nano standards. The Boston-area
company celebrated its 20th anniversary this summer. Second, it downplays
its nano heritage, or at least does not participate in the hype. Hyperion
has been making what it calls Fibrils, a form of multiwall carbon nanotubes,
since the 1980s - years before the scientific community acknowledged the
existence of carbon nanotubes. Staff members are more likely to attend a
conference on plastics than any of the numerous nanotech gatherings that
proliferated recently.
(Small Times 9/16/02)
http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=4622
Newsweek Next Frontiers: Careers and Technology. Although technology took a
beating in the dot-com crash, the innovative drive of the '90's tech boom
never went away and scientific progress marched on as well. Now there are
new worlds of job opportunities in industries that are growing quickly
because of scientific breakthroughs and the tech boom -- in fields like
nanotechnology, biometrics, solar energy and biotech. In the third
installment of Newsweek's "Next Frontiers" series on how technology is
changing the way we live and work, Newsweek looks at the new careers and
opportunities that are emerging from these new fields. The report appears in
the September 23 issue of Newsweek, on newsstands Monday, September 16.
(Hoovers Online 9/15/02)
http://hoovnews.hoovers.com/fp.asp?layout=displaynews&doc_id=NR200209151680
2_67bb01f3f4116ac3
(Event) 10th Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology. 11 to 13
October, 2002 at the Hyatt Hotel, One Bethesda Metro, Bethesda, Maryland
20814. Two instructional tutorials on Molecular Nanotechnology will be held
on October 10. (Register at the Foresight website)
http://www.foresight.org/Conferences/MNT10/index.html
Lightning Rods for Nanoelectronics. Electrostatic discharges threaten to
halt further shrinking and acceleration of electronic devices in the future.
On a dry winter day, walking on a new carpet can generate a whopping
35,000-volt discharge. We are not harmed by this high voltage, because the
amount of charge that flows is puny. Still, it is large enough to destroy
sensitive micro-electronic components. Researchers have come up with clever
ways to prevent such damage. But as circuits get smaller, they become more
sensitive to electrostatic discharge (ESD) and the old tricks no longer
work. Can we continue to find new ways to prevent electrostatic damage and
thereby maintain the pace of innovation? -5 pages-
(Scientific American October issue)
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=0005EE17-BE00-1D7F-9
0FB809EC5880000
Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have
produced the first ever action movies starring individual water molecules on
a metal surface. The ending was a surprise even to the producers. Working
with a unique scanning tunneling microscope (STM), a team led by Miquel
Salmeron, a physicist with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division,
cooled the surface of a single crystal of palladium, a good catalyst for
reactions involving hydrogen and water, to a temperature of about 40 Kelvins
(-233 degrees Celsius) in an ultrahigh vacuum. Water molecules were then
introduced onto this surface and their motion was tracked with the STM. As
expected from previous studies, single molecules migrated across the surface
to aggregate into clusters of two (dimers), three (trimers), four
(tetramers) five (pentamers) and six (hexamers). The surprise came when the
scientists were able to watch the molecules as they moved. -Movie
Included/via Real Player- (Berkeley Lab 9/12/02)
http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/MSD-action-movies-Salmeron.html
Nanoporous polymer stamps out glare. Scientists at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, US, have developed a nanoporous polymer film that
acts as an antireflection coating. What's more, manufacturing the film is
relatively environmentally friendly and the pores are reversibly
erasable...The researchers made the films by applying an aqueous treatment
to multilayers of poly(allylamine hydrochloride)/poly(acrylic acid)
(PAH/PAA). By carefully controlling the pH during the process, they gave the
films a nanoporous structure. With further treatment, pores could be removed
or reintroduced. (Nanotechweb (9/12/02)
http://www.nanotechweb.org/articles/news/1/9/9/1
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
http://www.nanoindustries.com
Personal: http://www.nanogirl.com
Foresight Senior Associate http://www.foresight.org
Extropy member http://www.extropy.org
nanogirl@halcyon.com
"Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future."
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