If you want to know how far nanotechnology has come, you only need to ask the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It just awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to researchers Bernard Feringa, Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Sir J. Fraser Stoddart for their wo...
If you know a bit about quantum physics, you've likely heard of the Schrödinger's Cat concept used to explain superpositions: a cat in a box with a poison flask is at once alive and dead until you look inside. Researchers have produced this odd...
Chinese scientists have discovered a small molecule that can regenerate tissue, which in the future could potentially eliminate transplants of some organs.The research was led by professor Zhou...
Today on In Case You Missed It: Georgia Tech overhauled its DURUS robot to walk with a human-like gait that makes it the most efficient bipedal robot. Scientists at the EPFL did some solid research into the pomegranate fruit that shows it can cou...
Scientists have known for a while that the molecular ingredients of life can be found in nearby comets and meteorites, but it's now clear that those building blocks exist much, much further away from home. A research team has used spectral analysis...
Geek store Cognitive Surplus attracts chemistry buffs with a variety of glassware that are embossed with the molecular structure of the molecule(s) in the drink suited to each glass. There’s a glass for water, coffee, beer, wine and whiskey.
Combine your browser and this link to order the glasses. They cost $15 or $18(USD) each.
Molecular modeling kits usually use sticks to connect models of atoms. Veritasium creator Derek Mueller came up with a beginner kit that’s more realistic, intuitive and easier to use. He calls it Snatoms.
Snatoms consists of plastic atomic models embedded with spherical neodymium magnets. It will launch with a glucose kit, which has six carbon atoms, six oxygen atoms, and 12 hydrogen atoms.
You can make smaller molecules with those atoms, as well as make larger ones by combining multiple kits. If it proves successful, atomic models for other elements will follow.
Pledge at least $42 (USD) on Kickstarter to receive a Snatoms kit as a reward. Derek said that if the fundraiser reaches $200,000 (USD) – which it most likely will – backers who pledge enough to get a kit will also receive two nitrogen Snatoms with their reward. A separate kit with double and triple bonds will be made if the fundraiser reaches $420,000 while an interactive app is Derek’s $840,000 stretch goal.
For most of us, molecular bonding only really exists as a classroom concept. Some scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory can now claim more tangible knowledge, however: they're the first to have taken truly clear snapshots of bonding in progress. While trying to create graphene nanostructures and observe them with an atomic force microscope, a lab team spotted molecules forming their individual, atom-level links during a chemical reaction. The resulting shots were nearly textbook material, too -- as the molecules were neatly placed on a flat surface, the researchers identified the order and nature of each bond. While the images will only be immediately useful for the nanostructure research at hand, they may add a welcome dash of reality to future chemistry lessons.
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) just deflated the size of a bit down to a solitary nanometer -- the length of an organic molecule. The international research team managed it by first embedding a magnetized iron atom into a molecule made up of 51 atoms, then taking advantage of so-called memristive and spintronic properties. By applying a current, they flipped the atom's magnetic charge, altering the resistance of the molecule as well -- which they subsequently measured, storing a bit. Compared to a typical magnetic drive which needs 3 million atoms per bit, a device made this way could theoretically store 50 thousand times as much data in the same size -- and would be an all-electric device, to boot. If the research ever pans out, a terabyte magnetic drive could turn into a 50 petabyte solid state unit -- hopefully ready in time for all those 4K home movies you'll need to store one day soon.
It appears that everyone is getting into the Olympic spirit, including scientific geeks at the Royal Society of Chemistry, IBM Research-Zurich and the University of Warwick. Working together, the team of scientists and researchers have created an imaged the smallest possible five-ring structure. The structure is about 100,000 times thinner than a human hair.
Since this is Olympic year, the scientists dubbed the molecule “olympicene.” The molecules were imaged using noncontact atomic force microscopy. The scientists used a combination of synthetic chemistry and state-of-the-art imaging techniques to create image you see here.
When the molecules clump together, they form a white powder that turns to an orange-yellow color as it is exposed to light. There was a bigger scientific reason for creating and taking an image of the molecule other than celebrating the Olympics. The olympicene molecule is said to be similar to that of graphene. Graphene has electric properties that make it interesting for potential use in electronics.
If you want to know how far nanotechnology has come, you only need to ask the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It just awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to researchers Bernard Feringa, Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Sir J. Fraser Stoddart for their wo...
If you know a bit about quantum physics, you've likely heard of the Schrödinger's Cat concept used to explain superpositions: a cat in a box with a poison flask is at once alive and dead until you look inside. Researchers have produced this odd...
Today on In Case You Missed It: Georgia Tech overhauled its DURUS robot to walk with a human-like gait that makes it the most efficient bipedal robot. Scientists at the EPFL did some solid research into the pomegranate fruit that shows it can cou...
Scientists have known for a while that the molecular ingredients of life can be found in nearby comets and meteorites, but it's now clear that those building blocks exist much, much further away from home. A research team has used spectral analysis...
