Sunday, December 31, 2006

Picture of the day


lanthanum aluminate Paul A. Midgley


This is a false colour convergent beam electron diffraction pattern recorded at 150kV parallel to the three-fold axis of lanthanum aluminate. In addition to the mesh of reflections at the centre, the pattern also shows concentric circles of reflections in successive higher order Laue zones. Odd numbered zones have only a single branch of intensity that corresponds to scattering solely from the oxygen atoms in the structure.

As with the previous picture, I will post the others in this series over time. To see it all now, visit the Nanotechnology Now Gallery.

Acknowledgements: Paul A. Midgley, University of Cambridge - Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy

Quote of the day

Molecular nanotechnology promises to usher in the next Industrial Revolution and replace our entire manufacturing base with a new, radically precise, less expensive, and more flexible way of making products. These pervasive changes in manufacturing will leave virtually no product, process, or industry untouched. To be sure, nanotechnology has the potential to disrupt entire industries while leading to the creative destruction of current business models. It has already dramatically changed the competitive landscape of many industries worldwide including advanced materials/composites, aerospace/defense, automotive, energy, life sciences, medicine, electronics and semiconductors. Yet the future potential of nanotechnology depends on creating the tools that will enable us to effectively position molecules and build complex structures with atomically precise control. Every aspect of basic nanoscale science and the commercial production of nanotechnology will rely---first and foremost---on the capacity of these tools, instruments, metrology devices, and modeling/simulation applications to measure, sense, fabricate, and manipulate matter at the atomic level. Nanomanufacturing Conference 2006