Solar panels have been around for decades, but they haven’t changed too much in terms of efficiency. Now, scientists at MIT have discovered that by combining a modified virus with nanotechnology, they can improve solar panel efficiency by about a third. More »
Minuscule solar cells that can fix themselves using the same building blocks as plant cells have been demonstrated, with our old friend the carbon nanotube one of the key components that holds these self-healing power units together. More »
Did you know that researchers are studying the possibilities of carbon nanotube speakers? They’d be powered by lasers and could be hidden into walls and windows to noise-cancel ambient rackets. Or blast some music. More »
Wonder material the carbon nanotube has another new application: A team at the University of Michigan has worked out how to coat cotton threads with a polymer and nanotube mix to produce conductive mini-cables. Conductive threads per se aren’t new, but they generally involve metal which limits their utility—this new material is flexible enough to be woven, won’t corrode, and can carry enough current to light up an LED. Crazily the tubes are also suitable for clinical and chemical biosensing, which could point the way for uses in future military wear. [TechnologyReview]
The UK’s Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has recently released a report urging for more study of nano-engineered materials, warning that there is a “major gap” in our knowledge of this technology. We’ve covered the potential dangers of carbon nanotubes here before, but the commission also warns about nano silver, an antibacterial particle that can be found in a variety of clothing, like socks. And in fact, the commission Chair refuses to wear such clothing at all:
A technique known as nanolithography was used to build these Obama faces, combining 150 million carbon nanotubes to construct each individual half-millimeter visage. Depending on your political leanings, the result is either the cutest wittle powitician ever or proof that science, in the wrong hands, will engineer miniature robotic Democrats who distract with a message of hope while eating our flesh. As for the undecideds…I’ll be honest here. I’m so sick of hearing what those dudes “think.” [Flickr via Wired]
