Scientist Creates Diamonds From Peanut Butter Diamonds are typically created more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) below Earth’s surface when temperatures over 2200 degrees Celsius (4000 degrees Fahrenheit) and pressure 1.3 million times greater than the atmosphere combine and crystallize carbon into the clear white stone we all know. Synthetic diamonds can replicate the process in a few short days, creating diamonds that are less politically-charged for use in jewelry, electronics, manufacturing, and more. Dan Frost of Germany's Bayerisches Geoinstitut has been creating diamonds out of a rather unlikely source of carbon: peanut butter. While it might sound a bit on the ridiculous side, Frost’s process is allowing him to explore the composition of Earth’s mantle, and even challenge some long-standing assumptions about where some of these elemental components originated. Heat and pressure similar to conditions within the mantle begin to rearrange the carbon atoms into a dense configuration. “It sounds horrific,” he tells BBC Future.
Grey goo Grey goo (also spelled gray goo) is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves,[1][2] a scenario that has been called ecophagy ("eating the environment").[3] The original idea assumed machines were designed to have this capability, while popularizations have assumed that machines might somehow gain this capability by accident. Definition[edit] The term was first used by molecular nanotechnology pioneer Eric Drexler in his book Engines of Creation (1986). In Chapter 4, Engines Of Abundance, Drexler illustrates both exponential growth and inherent limits (not gray goo) by describing nanomachines that can function only if given special raw materials: Drexler describes gray goo in Chapter 11 of Engines Of Creation: Early assembler-based replicators could beat the most advanced modern organisms. Risks and precautions[edit] Ethics and chaos[edit]
Scientists Create New Invisible Material The 10 strangest facts about graphene | Emerging Tech When first discovered, graphene was odd. Now odd is too small a word for a material seemingly set on winning all the records a material can win. In the first part of our series, we looked at what graphene is and how it was discovered. In part two, we explored the different techniques we can use to make graphene. But what is it that makes this material so remarkable? 1. So says Professor James (Jim) Tour of Rice University in Texas, and who are we to argue with that? Everyone you ask about graphene's amazing properties says the same thing: it is really hard to pick one feature when the material is so astonishing. 2. This makes graphene a wonderful candidate for use in photovoltaic (PV) cells, for instance, because it can absorb photons with energy at every frequency — photons of different frequencies of light are converted to electrons with matching energy levels. It is possible to induce a small band gap in graphene by doping it. 3. 4, 5 & 6. 7. 8 & 9. 10. 11.
Chemists fabricate 'impossible' material (PhysOrg.com) -- When atoms combine to form compounds, they must follow certain bonding and valence rules. For this reason, many compounds simply cannot exist. But there are some compounds that, although they follow the bonding and valence rules, still are thought to not exist because they have unstable structures. Scientists call these compounds "impossible compounds." The researchers, led by Professor Geoffrey Ozin of the Chemistry Department at the University of Toronto, along with coauthors from institutions in Canada, China, Turkey, and Germany, have published their study in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Like graphene, periodic mesoporous hydridosilica (meso-HSiO1.5) consists of a honeycomb-like lattice structure. In their study, the researchers synthesized the mesoporous material on an aqueous acid-catalyzed template. Explore further: Why Captain America's shield is basically a star-spangled supercapacitor More information: Zhuoying Xie, et al.
Scientists discover whole new state of matter Most people are familiar with some of the common states of matter: solids, liquids and gases. Scientists also recognize a fourth state of matter — plasma — that is commonly observable here on Earth, as well as a host of other states that can only be created in the lab, such as Bose–Einstein condensates and neutron-degenerate matter. Jahn-Teller metals can now be added to this list, a state which appears to have the properties of an insulator, superconductor, metal and magnet all wrapped into one. It's the material's superconductivity which might be the most interesting trait, however. A team led by chemist Kosmas Prassides from Tokohu University in Japan produced the new state of matter by introducing rubidium into carbon-60 molecules — more commonly known as "buckyballs" — which altered the distance between molecules. What the researchers observed, however, was that when an insulator becomes a metal, there is a transitional phase where the molecules hang on to their old shapes.
Liquid metal brings shape-shifting robot a step closer - tech - 10 March 2015 Video: Self-fuelled liquid metal motor Hasta la vista, baby. A real-life T-1000, the shape-shifting liquid-metal robot from Terminator 2, is a step closer, thanks to a self-powered liquid metal motor. The device is surprisingly simple: just a drop of metal alloy made mostly of gallium – which is liquid at just under 30 °C – with some indium and tin mixed in. "The soft machine looks rather intelligent and [can] deform itself according to the space it voyages in, just like [the] Terminator does from the science-fiction film," says Jing Liu from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. When they first saw the drop move, Liu and colleagues weren't sure how it was able to do so. Other researchers have shown that a stationary gallium drop can act as a pump when in an electric field. The work is part of a long-term effort to create intelligent robots that are non-rigid and so can be reshaped on the fly, a bit like the fictional T-1000. More From New Scientist ISIS is waging war on history.
Scientists transform cement into liquid metal It's not the same as turning lead into gold, but scientists at the Illinois-based Argonne National Laboratory and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute/SPring-8 have developed a method for turning cement into a liquid metal semiconductor. The process sounds like a mad scientist's invention. It involves equipment like an aerodynamic levitator and a carbon dioxide laser beam. The levitator uses gas pressure to keep the material out of contact with any container surfaces. The material in question is mayenite, a calcium aluminum oxide material that is part of alimuna cement. "This new material has lots of applications, including as thin-film resistors used in liquid-crystal displays, basically the flat panel computer monitor that you are probably reading this from at the moment," Argonne physicist Chris Benmore said Monday in a statement. Score one for modern alchemy.
Graphene Is The Strongest Material In The World Even When It Has Defects, Research Finds Clean Power Published on June 2nd, 2013 | by James Ayre June 2nd, 2013 by James Ayre Graphene is the strongest material in the world, even when it has notable defects, new research has found. Image Credit: Illustration by Andrew Shea for Columbia Engineering It’s been said that graphene is so strong that “it would take an elephant, balanced on a pencil, to break through a sheet of graphene the thickness of Saran Wrap.” Graphene is — essentially — just a single atomic layer of carbon that is structured as a honeycomb lattice. The new research corrects the mistaken belief that defects present in graphene are the cause of the extremely low strength seen in some previous studies — the lowered strength is actually the result of the methods used for post-processing CVD-grown graphene. “We substituted a different etchant and were able to create test samples without harming the graphene,” states the paper’s lead author, Gwan-Hyoung Lee, a postdoctoral fellow in the Hone lab. About the Author
Researchers create ultrathin invisibility cloak In Brief Researchers have devised an ultra-thin invisibility 'skin' cloak that can conform to the shape of an object and conceal it from detection with visible light. The Breakthrough Scientists have devised an ultra-thin invisibility “skin” cloak that can conform to the shape of an object and conceal it from detection with visible light. Although this cloak is only microscopic in size, the principles behind the technology should enable it to be scaled-up to conceal macroscopic items as well. The Implications The ability to manipulate the interactions between light and metamaterials offers tantalizing future prospects for technologies such as high resolution optical microscopes and superfast optical computers.
Scientists Have Made a New Kind of Invisibility Cloak Bending Light Concealing objects in direct light is already a difficult feat. While there is ongoing research into invisibility cloaks of some form or other, researchers at the Public University of Navarre (NUP/UPNA) and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) are taking a not-so-straightforward approach. In particular, they are interested in developing a cloaking mechanism that works by bending light. The team, whose work is published in the journal Physical Review A, has worked on simulations of an invisibility technology that conceals objects in diffusive atmospheres. This kind of invisibility, based on their study, can be achieved by surrounding an object with a special material that’s capable of bending light around it. Working Around the Difficulties Apparently, it isn’t as easy as one might think.