Process Engineering

Scientists at the University of Chicago have discovered a better way to measure a confounding property of microscopic high-tech particles called quantum dots.

Quantum dots, also called nanocrystals, emit light in a rainbow of colors and are used in lasers, biological studies and other applications, but their tendency to blink hinders their technological value. Imagine the annoyance caused by a randomly flickering light bulb.

“A quantum dot might blink for just a millionth of a sec

Polystyrene foam is widely used in a variety of applications, including building insulation, packaging and drinking cups. These different types of foam are all commercially produced from a single starting material – high-density spherical beads of expandable polystyrene (EPS).

The beads are expanded and moulded by the end product manufacturers using a blowing agent. Currently, pentane is used, but it is an inflammable, volatile organic compound (VOC) and up to half remains in the EPS after

Researchers of Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands have developed a new clean, process to isolate valuable or undesired components from solids, such as components for food products. In contrast to other conventional processes, the new invention concerns a continuous process that can be controlled easily and secondly, leads to higher extraction yields.

Many odours and flavours are extracted from plant tissues by dissolving in organic solvents, such as hexane and alc

Current electronic technologies can’t create smaller computers and other devices because they are reaching physical limitations, so University of Arkansas scientists seek to harness an electron’s spin to create tiny machines with large memories. To do this, they have built a microscope that may allow them to be the first researchers to measure the properties of electron spin injection in conducting materials.

Paul Thibado, associate professor of physics, won a $370,000 grant from the Natio

What happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas for device’s inventors

Back in 2002, Stanford University engineers Kevin Montgomery, PhD, and Carsten Mundt, PhD, found themselves bored at a conference in Las Vegas. So they did what you’d expect from any researchers stuck in Sin City with frequent thoughts about life in outer space: They headed to a casino, downed a few cocktails and drew up a plan for the ideal physiological monitor for astronauts.

But here’s

USC/UT ’Quantum Dot’ nanodevices promise improved night vision goggles, medical sensors and more

Researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Texas at Austin have built and tested a device based on nanostructures called quantum dots that can sensitively detect infrared radiation in a crucial wavelength range. Quantum dot IR receptor unit.

The atmosphere is opaque to most infrared, but it is transparent for a narrow “window” between 8 a