Interested In Science?

OK, very quick post as just about purely B-E-A-utiful technology. Below is the newest prototype OLED screen from Sony, as recently (today) mentioned on GIZMODO.com.

STUNNING. At 0.01inches thick and a still impressive resolution of 960×540, it makes me, quite frankly, sick.

Read more at GIZMODO.

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Well, it has been rumoured for a while now and its properties as a potential silicon-replacement have been exhalted for several years, but it looks that finally the worlds smallest transistors will be graphene based.

In science yesterday a team at Manchester have reported the development of a transistor made of graphene only 1 atom thick (graphene is a flat molecule - the graphite in your pencil is many sheets of graphene) and 10 atoms long.

This is (pardon the magnitude-based pun) huge news!

Ever since Richard Feynman’s lectures on the potential for miniaturization of circuitry, nanoscience has been one of the (if not in fact THE) fastest growing areas of science. And this latest development is at the very frontier and epitomizes what I’m sure Prof Feynman was hinting at.

The paper can be read in full at the following link (if you have access). If you don’t there is a well written commentary here on the BBC website.

There is also a commentary (Science Perspective doi: 10.1126/science.1156936) on Graphene in the journal science through this link.

The paper from the Manchester group is cited below.

Ponomarenko, L.A., Schedin, F., Katsnelson, M.I., Yang, R., Hill, E.W., Novoselov, K.S., Geim, A.K. (2008). Chaotic Dirac Billiard in Graphene Quantum Dots. Science, 320(5874), 356-358. DOI: 10.1126/science.1154663

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I remember posting sometime late last year about the potential for even more memory in your iPod (160Gb just isn’t enough!?!) - Atomic Memory Storage…(01/09/2007) - but here is yet another hint at what the future has in store for us…

Published this week in Science a team at IBM have declared they have a novel way of successfully storing fast and stable memory in something called ‘racetrack’ memory. The idea is that memory is stored on nanowires, and electrons are pushed around the track, moving domains which can be charged one way of another, ultimately as 1 or 0 (binary storage) depending on which way the domain is magnetized.

The journal article is cited below, but the following link should take you to an introductory article in science which explains the science (and controversy it’s causing) with a bit more detail.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/320/5873/166?rss=1

Hayashi, M., Thomas, L., Moriya, R., Rettner, C., Parkin, S.S. (2008). Current-Controlled Magnetic Domain-Wall Nanowire Shift Register. Science, 320(5873), 209-211. DOI: 10.1126/science.1154587

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I missed this last week whilst on holiday, but on 18.03.08 Chem. Comm. published a Chinese group’s work on the development of an Iridium dopant for OLEDs which allows, potentially, 100% conversion of energy into light!

The inclusion of the dopant highlights the importance of heavy metals in (ironically termed??) OLEDs. Fully organic LEDs cannot achieve better than 25% due to the nature of the excited states being formed and the ratio of emissive:non-emissive ‘excitons’ (N.B. this isn’t the best use of the word but allow me some poetic license here please!!). Inclusion of the heavy metal (sometimes platinum, more often iridium) allows conversion of the non-emissive ‘excitons’ to be converted to emissive ones (intersystem crossing - see a jablonski diagram for more info on this!).

Ha ha! At last some certifiable published research/progress on the flat-screen/organic electronics-printing front (sorry for that appauling intro…it’s early).

Japanese scientists have published in PNAS (see citation at bottom - next edition) a method to reliably print flat screen panels using a fancy new inkjet style printer (see also BBC News). The technique allows them to circumvent the problems of todays silicon-based flat panel printing processes which in order to obtain maximum purities and performances have yielded to higher processing temperatures, increased manufacturing costs, and thus a higher price for the consumer - exactly what plastic electronic technology is designed to help combat.

The inkjet printers are able to print dots of 1 micron (a millionth of a meter, 1×10-6m, a thousandth of a millimeter…very small!) on to a flexible organic semiconductor. Current printing techniques are limited in their abilities to replicate the resolutions achieved by silicon-based devices and other lithographic techniques for several reasons - one being surface tension of the inks. This new printing technique allows droplet volumes of less than 1 femtolitre - a millionth that which recent techniques allowed.

All in all…yes! Very happy with this development.
See citation below for full article…

Sekitani, T., Noguchi, Y., Zschieschang, U., Klauk, H., Someya, T. (2008). Organic transistors manufactured using inkjet technology with subfemtoliter accuracy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0708340105

interestedinscience.com © 2008

Ok, completely off the beaten track for me and into the world of theoretical physics. Here is a journal from scientists in Scotland and Germany claiming to be able to create the event horizon of a black hole - you know, where light and matter (and my spare car key I assume) are lost forever.

It is believed by some that it will allow them to study the physics of the particles created in/emitted from the black holes we know are more regularly situated in space, as these are invariably surrounded by dust, gases and other space-borne artifacts.

This image can be seen in its original context at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~ulf/fibre.html.

I love it. I’m scared by it but I am amazed at what they are attempting.
For a more thorough read follow the link above or check out the paper…
The article is appearing in science.

Philbin, T.G., Kuklewicz, C., Robertson, S., Hill, S., Konig, F., Leonhardt, U. (2008). Fiber-Optical Analog of the Event Horizon. Science, 319(5868), 1367-1370. DOI: 10.1126/science.1153625

interestedinscience © 2008

OK, so you may not count wall paper as a fabric, but go with it…

NewScientists latest inventions feed has reported on the design by Phillips of new wallpaper that contains strips of electrically conducting wire. Their intention is incase you want to change your lighting arrangements you can just stick new lights in at different spots on your wall without having to peel the paper off, remove the plaster, place cables, mount sockets, replas…yawn. I applaud the idea - especially if other devices can use the same principles - TOTALLY wireless devices!!!….As long as they are stuck into a wall…

I am curious to see how a wall of minimalist magnolia would look with loads of pin holes in it from multiple movements of lights though….hmmm.

Nice idea - few wrinkles to iron out though I think.

For more see the NeScientist inventions blog (linked above) - absolutely worth a read anyway!

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Nature (and the BBC) are reporting a development in nanowires - their potential for integration into fabrics, which when moved (or worn and moved about in) will allow the build up of charge. The gold-coated nanowires work on a piezoelectric principle - a mechanical input generates a charge, for instance as the nanowires rub against each other.

I think this falls in step behind the cellulose paper covered in nanotubes (paper battery) discovery late last year - infact it is a logical progression of the technology, one which I hope will be pursued; my sony ericsson phone batttery has the life- span of a fruit fly!

Medical applications are bound (internal inplants etc) to be considered, but I want to know when I’m going to be able to plug my iPod into my jeans and when digital cameras come with a T-shirt adapter!?

abc

interestedinscience.com © 2008

Sorry for the lack of content recently - again an increase in workload is my excuse and for that I extend my apologie.

abc

Ok, so the last but one post was about a new touch screen technology being developed by a lab in the UK under Microsoft. Well, I wasn’t a massive fan and I said as much in my post. The idea of a touch screen laptop with multi-touch sensing is fantastic, but the demonstration video (posted in the blog) didn’t show the technology too well, and I don’t think the design was too intuitive.

Well, I was searching the old youtube.com this morning quite idly, and found this amazing video from a technology conference in the States. The chap doing the demonstration is Jeff Han and must be a professor (says he works at NYU) in computer design/software/hardware GUI application or something. The screen he is using is a 36″ tablet, which allows multi-touch sensing and manipulation of graphics in such an intuitive way that it seems so natural what he was doing nothing was a surprise. Well, there was obviously some surprise at the smoothness of the graphics and the fact that it was such an intuitive system - but the input methods were so obvious it really is a pleasure to watch. So here it is, enjoy!

I will be first in line to buy one of these - I just hope it’s Mac compatible!

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