a blog by the NSF Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology
Humans have been dreaming about space travel since the early ages. As many of you recall from the opening lines of Star Trek, it has been fascinating for humanity "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before." However, space exploration involves …
Continue reading "Aerogels: Nanotechnology to Space and Beyond"
Did you know that Americans consume a whopping average of 46 million turkeys at Thanksgiving? That’s about 1 turkey for every 7 Americans!1,2 With the colossal number of turkeys consumed during the holidays, it only makes sense that we often think of turkeys as just a food source. But what if I were to tell …
Continue reading "Turkeys and Photonic Crystals: Lots to Be Thankful For"
Advertisements for bigger and better technology gadgets bombard us daily. It seems like there is always a more advanced cell phone or television that you need to get your hands on. Though color TV was made mainstream in the 1960s, the race to advance screen technology for color enhancement is ongoing. In this post (in …
Continue reading "Enhancing Color: Quantum Dot Televisions"
It's National Chemistry Week! We have a couple of special posts planned in honor of this year's theme, "Chemistry Colors our World." To kick off the week, here are just a few of the posts about color that we've published here at Sustainable Nano: How the Fruits Got Their Colors What is Color and How Can it Help Kill Cancer Cells? Celebrating …
Continue reading "National Chemistry Week – Chemistry Colors our World"
Last month we posted "Light Can Do Way More Than Bend: Part 2," in which we talked about using lasers to create a particular type of metamaterial from gold nanoparticles. One exciting application for metamaterials research is the development of invisibility technology, and now the ACS Reactions team has produced a great little video explaining …
Continue reading "Invisibility Cloaks & Tomato Juice – Two Videos About Light & Color"
Our last blog post featured lighting technology powered by algae, and this week is all about a different example of green-colored water: the Chicago River. Every year since 1962, the Chicago River has been dyed green for the downtown St. Patrick’s Day parade. So how does this amazing color transformation relate to the Center for Sustainable …
Continue reading "Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Fluorescence"
Have you ever wondered where the inspiration behind new technologies comes from? We don’t have to go too far to find out; it is enough to just look out the window! Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. -Albert Einstein Yes, nature is out there, standing as a giant laboratory of …
Spring is officially here and I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to welcome back COLOR: the bright rays of sunshine, the baby blue sky, the lively green grass, and of course, the plethora of vibrantly colored flowers. But have you ever wondered what is color? To understand the marvels of color and how …
Continue reading "What is Color and How Can It Help Kill Cancer Cells?"
Only over the past 20 years have we begun to harness the unique properties of nano-scale materials, while nature has been using nano- “technology” since the beginning of time to prevent infections, repel water, create colors, and climb vertical surfaces. Inspired by nature’s advances, scientists and engineers are generating biomimetic applications for nanotechnology in today’s …
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