crystals

New state of matter in a transistor

harminka — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:00:41 -0500

McGill University researchers have discovered a new state of matter, a quasi-three- dimensional electron crystal, in a material very much like those used in the fabrication of modern transistors.

Crystal clear savings for drug giants

harminka — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:10:02 -0500

Drug companies could save millions thanks to a new technology to monitor crystals as they form.

First-class protein crystals thanks to weightlessness on earth

harminka — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:18:00 -0500

Dutch chemist Paul Poodt has developed two attractive alternatives for allowing protein crystals to grow under weightless conditions. If the crystals are grown upside down in a strong magnetic field, fluid flows that disrupt crystal growth are suppressed. Therefore, high-quality proteins no longer need to be grown in space, but can be grown here on earth.

Single-crystal semiconductor wire built into an optical fiber

harminka — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:39:19 -0500

An international science team from Penn State University in the United States and the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom has developed a process for growing a single-crystal semiconductor inside the tunnel of a hollow optical fiber.

Tiny pieces of deep time brought to surface

harminka — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:46:51 -0600

Three-billion-year-old zircon microcrystals found in northern Ontario are proving to be a new record of the processes that form continents and their natural resources, including gold and diamonds.

Crystal bells stay silent as physicists look for dark matter

harminka — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:02:53 -0600

Scientists of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment today announced that they have regained the lead in the worldwide race to find the particles that make up dark matter. The CDMS experiment, conducted a half-mile underground in a mine in Soudan, Minn., again sets the world’s best constraints on the properties of dark matter candidates.

Squeezed crystals deliver more volts per jolt

harminka — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:46:32 -0600

A discovery by scientists at the Carnegie Institution has opened the door to a new generation of piezoelectric materials that can convert mechanical strain into electricity and vice versa, potentially cutting costs and boosting performance in myriad applications ranging from medical diagnostics to green energy technologies.

Solving the mystery of the metallic sheen of fish

harminka — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:42:03 -0600

The bright, metallic sheen of fish skin — source of endless fascination for fishermen and aquarium owners — is due to a sophisticated system of crystals that enhance light reflection and may help fish hide from predators in the wild, scientists in Israel are reporting.

Researchers bend light through waveguides in colloidal crystals

harminka — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:56:13 -0600

Researchers at the University of Illinois are the first to achieve optical waveguiding of near-infrared light through features embedded in self-assembled, three-dimensional photonic crystals.

Strange-behaving crystals could have impact on research

harminka — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:50:16 -0600

All of us break the rules from time to time -- even crystals.

Crystal that nature may have missed

harminka — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:20:24 -0600

For centuries, human beings have been entranced by the captivating glimmer of the diamond. What accounts for the stunning beauty of this most precious gem?

Scientists find missing evolutionary link using tiny fungus crystal

harminka — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:00:24 -0600

The crystal structure of a molecule from a primitive fungus has served as a time machine to show researchers more about the evolution of life from the simple to the complex.