Itty Bitty Pictures

My first corporate friendly post is going to be about a photo contest for tiny things (like the soy leaf above). If you ever wanted to see what a mouse's brain or vitamin C look like magnified by an incredible amount, you can preview and vote for your favorite images here. Not all are nano-photography, but they are close enough for me. Below are drops of water floating on a mylar sheet.

Physics fun

The Large Hardon Collider (or LHC as the scientists call it) began tests this weekend in prep for a Sept. 10th lift off. This may not mean much to many people, but the conspiracy theorists are all over it. According to the best ones, the first collision will produce a mini-black whole and suck most of Europe into it (oh heavens!). But on top of that, its a pretty interesting step forward for the science community and will be very exciting for scientists to be able to study things that they haven't been able to see before, ever! There are some great stories at i09 and Popular Mechanics.

But today, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has announced that the LHC will go online on September 10. On that day, researchers will activate particle beams within the 17-mile-long ring, and the world’s most powerful—and most talked about—particle accelerator will begin collecting experimental data. The LHC’s research potential is staggering, with physicists hoping to use the accelerator’s extremely high-energy proton collisions to generate a range of theoretical particles. Some of those particles could help us to understand the nature of mass, including the as-yet-undetectable dark matter that accounts for so much of the universe’s mass. Other particles might prove the existence of extra dimensions, or lead to entirely new theories or physical laws.

See?! Told you it was exciting!

5 superpowers that could be yours!

Apparently, according to this very trustworthy site (ahem), science will give us five superpowers in our lifetime. A number of them have to do with my favorite past time, Nanotechnology (coincidence? I think not). The list, modeled closely after the abilities of some of your favorite super heroes, is pretty entertaining. Can you guess the superhero?
5. Technologically advanced battle suit
4. Telekinesis
3. Web slinging and wall climbing (too easy)
2. Fast healing wounds via tissue regeneration
1. Invisibility

Check out the explanations.

Chili nanotubes

Thanks to the beauty of carbon nanotubes, they can now objectively measure the hotness or certain chili peppers. It used to be decided by some random group of people's taste buds.

Professor Richard Compton of the University of Oxford has been experimenting with the world's hottest pepper sauces. Given their fiery pungency, he's careful not to taste undiluted. Instead, thanks to carbon nanotubes and adsorptive stripping voltammetry, he's developed an objective method to measure that intense heat.
The heat level in chillies is usually measured using the Scoville organoleptic (sensory) test. Developed by American scientist Wilbur Scoville in 1912, it uses a series of dilutions with taste volunteers - a mild chilli pepper has a rating of 2,500-8,000 Scoville units. How we feel the "heat" is also well understood: compounds known as capsaicinoids trigger chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin.
Compton's academic expertise lies in electrochemistry and sensors. Why does he use carbon nanotubes for sensing chilli heat? "It's as trivial as having a huge surface area for conductivity," says Compton. A carbon nanotube is an arrangement of carbon atoms in a hollow tube 50,000 times thinner than a human hair. The multi-walled nanotubes used by Compton are like tubes within tubes to give the right surface area.

Find the rest of the story here.

Nanocleansers

I have to admit, I'm completely fascinated with anything related to nano-technologies. Today's gnarly-nano moment comes courtesy of potassium manganese oxide fibers (wtf?). Scientists at MIT have crafted sheets of this stuff which acts like a paper towel for oil and basically sucks up oil and nothing else (even pulling it from water). It was designed to pick up oil from the oceans and does so remarkably well - it can hold up to 20 times its weight in oil. Oil that can later be extracted and used. Plus, it's apparently affordable to produce and it's recyclable.

Stellacci explained that there are other materials that can absorb oils from water, "but their selectivity is not as high as ours." In other words, conventional materials still absorb some water, making them less efficient at capturing the contaminant.

The new material appears to be completely impervious to water. "Our material can be left in water a month or two, and when you take it out it's still dry," Stellacci said. "But at the same time, if that water contains some hydrophobic contaminants, they will get absorbed."

Made of potassium manganese oxide, the nanowires are stable at high temperatures. As a result, oil within a loaded membrane can be removed by heating above the boiling point of oil. The oil evaporates, and can be condensed back into a liquid. The membrane--and oil--can be used again.

Link to MIT News which has a short video
Link to the post on gizmodo

If you have a nano fetish like me, you may also like the blog behind my first post ever - io9

Nano photography

This post harkens back to my very first blog entry and can serve as an update on some of the crazy cool visuals made by nanotechnology. Wired has the slide show here.