New, invisible nano-fibers conduct electricity, repel dirt

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A scanning electron microscope image of plastic fibers grown on a sheet of transparent film. Ohio State University researchers have invented a technique for carpeting a surface with tiny plastic fibers. The fibers can be made to attract or repel wate ...
A scanning electron microscope image of plastic fibers grown on a sheet of transparent film. Ohio State University researchers have invented a technique for carpeting a surface with tiny plastic fibers. The fibers can be made to attract or repel water and oil. Credit: Image courtesy of Ohio State University

Tiny plastic fibers could be the key to some diverse technologies in the future -- including self-cleaning surfaces, transparent electronics, and biomedical tools that manipulate strands of DNA.


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All News summaries for June 28, 2007

'Nanonet' circuits closer to making flexible electronics reality

Jul 23, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Researchers have overcome a major obstacle in producing transistors from networks of carbon nanotubes, a technology that could make it possible to print circuits on plastic sheets for applications including ...

Nanoparticle Research Points to Energy Savings

Jul 23, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Adding just the right dash of nanoparticles to standard mixes of lubricants and refrigerants could yield the equivalent of an energy-saving chill pill for factories, hospitals, ships, and ...

Artificial Lotus Effect: Carbon nanotubes with nanoscopic paraffin coating form superhydrophobic, self-cleaning surfaces

Jul 23, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Never wash your car again? Never clean your windows? These may well become reality if it becomes possible to produce the right coatings—coatings that imitate the self-cleaning effect of the lotus blossom.

Holey Nanoparticles Create New Tumor Imaging and Therapeutic Agent

Jul 22, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Using a polymer that has both water-soluble and water-insoluble regions, a team of investigators from the Siteman Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence has created a nanoparticle shaped like a bialy, a close relative ...

Engineers Prove Graphene is the Strongest Material

Jul 22, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Research scientists at Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science have achieved a breakthrough by proving that the carbon material graphene is the strongest ...