Picture of the day

CS2 on Au{111}

"Surfing a wave" - CS2 riding an electronic surface state on Au{111} 236 Å x 236 Å, image of 0.2 ML CS2 on Au(111) at 4 K (Vtip = + 0.5 V, I = 200 pA). (click to see larger version)

Image by: E. H. Sykes & P. Han.

"We focus on gaining atomic-scale understanding and control of materials properties. We do this by exploring, probing, and manipulating interactions and dynamics at surfaces and interfaces. We use and extend scanning tunneling microscopy to explore the surface structures, motion, and perturbations due to adsorbed atoms and molecules and due to surface features such as substrate steps and defects. We locate, study, and try to exploit the regimes in which our intuition based on macroscopic measurements breaks down. We are exploring the phenomena to be used, the ground rules, and the ultimate limits in nanometer-scale electronics and storage. Our microscopes serve not only as probes, but also allow us to manipulate matter on the atomic scale. We can thus interrogate the properties of uniquely configured atomic-scale structures. This has required the development of new tools with atomic-scale views of the surface. One new effort in our group looks at how we can bridge the gap between conventional optical microscopies and scanning probe microscopies."

~Paul S. Weiss, Professor of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University. Weiss Group Featured Images

To see the entire series, visit the Nanotechnology Now Gallery.

Important Quotes

Over the past 8+ years I have been gathering quotes that have a bearing on nanotechnology. Be they on investments, the ethics of advanced technologies, or forecasts and predictions, I have collects thousands of relevant quotes from individuals in business, government, academia, and the private sector.

Recently I put together a series of these quotes for my Access Team website "To help convey the most critical notions and core assumptions about nanotechnology and molecular manufacturing..." including these:

"As an emerging science in its infancy, nanotechnology promises the nano-scale manufacture of materials and machines made to atomic specifications. The impact of nanotechnology on our way of life is widely believed to reach profound and hitherto unimagined levels in the coming decades. Proposed changes include clean abundant energy, pollution-free and inexpensive production of superior defect-free materials, complete environmental restoration and cleanup, safe and affordable space travel and colonization, and quantum leaps in medicine leading to perfect health and immortality. As a result of these advances, we anticipate the obsolescence of nearly all of today's industrial and economic processes by the first half of the new century, leading to global and radical changes in life style, finance, law, and politics."

~Behfar Bastani and Dennis Fernandez
From Intellectual Property Rights for Nanotechnology

Starting around 2010, workers will cultivate expertise with systems of nanostructures, directing large numbers of intricate components to specified ends. One application could involve the guided self-assembly of nanoelectronic components into three-dimensional circuits and whole devices. Medicine could employ such systems to improve the tissue compatibility of implants, or to create scaffolds for tissue regeneration, or perhaps even to build artificial organs."

~Mihail C. Roco, Senior adviser for nanotechnology to the National Science Foundation and a key architect of the National Nanotechnology Initiative

"Over the next ten years, the fields of chemistry, physics, material sciences, biology, and computational sciences will converge in a way that will define nanotechnology and impact almost every industry, including computers, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, defense, health care, communications, transportation, energy, environmental sciences, entertainment, chemicals, and manufacturing. Previously distinct disciplines will also combine: medicine and engineering, law and science, art and physics, etc. This merging will result in developments that are not simply evolutionary; they will be revolutionary."

~Jack Uldrich & Deb Newberry

Read this collection in full, here:
www.access-nanotechnology.com/quotes.htm

Visit Nanotechnology Now (nanotech-now.com) to read new quotes each week (left column, home page)