12/10/00 - The Nanomanipulator (tm)
Aron Helser is the project leader for the NanoManipulator (tm), a commercially available AFM interface that allows the user to control an AFM tip as if it were a macroscale pen.

11/26/00 - Coupling
All machinery, big and small, uses energy coupling to carry out its function. Quantum coupling is a predictable phenomena (analogous to planetary motion) that makes both life and nanotechnology possible.

11/12/00 - Book Reviews
'Travels to the Nanoworld' and 'Nanotechnology' are two books that do an excellent job of summarizing the broad field of nanotechnology. These and my other favorite nanotech books can be found in the Nanotech Bookstore.

11/05/00 - Nanoparticle Skateboards
Novel nanomaterials that function as solid lubricants can increase the lifetime of machine parts by a factor of 10-100. Here is a proposal to apply the materials in order to solve the problem of skateboard wear.

10/29/00 - Frontiers in Optical Lithography
Several methods are available to the chip designer who wishes to use light to carve nanoscale features. The diffraction barrier can be broken in several ways and novel photosensitive materials promise a bright future for photolithography.

10/15/00 - Nanocircles
Nanorings consisting of a single short DNA strand with the ends connected by a single streptavidin molecule have been synthesized in high yield by simple thermal treatment. These nanocircles have several applications in nanotechnology.

10/01/00 - Nanotech Education
Which subjects should a student learn in preparation for nanotechnology? Biology, chemistry, physics, engineering and computer science each provide a unique perspective of the nanoscale. Various combinations of these fields are where the most progress is being made, thus resulting in interdisciplinary nanoscience.

09/03/00 - Near Field Optics
Optical tunneling has been used to surpass two theoretical limits of light, namely the "speed limit" and the "far-field diffraction limit." Here is a report on the current state of near field optics as presented at NFO-6.

08/20/00 - Inorganic Nanotubes
The arangement of atoms into cylindrical nanocrystals is a stable phase for numerous elements. The inert nature of boron nitride and tungsten disulfide nanotubes makes them particularly durable molecular components for NEMS.

08/06/00 - Nanotechnology with Carbon Nanotubes
Columns, pipes, bearings and springs are important for architecture, plumbing and machinery. Carbon nanotubes are molecular cylinders that are rapidly extending our ability to manufacture molecular-scale devices.

07/23/00 - Surface Wetting
Understanding surface wetting has had important implications for preventing wear, for medicine and for self-cleaning products. A model for surface tension based on a two-dimensional frozen film is discussed.

07/09/00 - Nanoscale Chemistry
While chemistry deals with molecules in a statistical sense, nanotechnology deals with them as discrete entities, each requiring special attention. For instance, in order to understand and fabricate molecular assembly lines or carry out single molecule reactions in vessicles it is useful to tweak some fundamental units such as temperature.

06/25/00 - Quantum Biology
Developments in our understanding of quantum effects in biological systems require a combination of quantum physics and moleclar biology. For instance, actomyosin vessicle transport systems appear to exibit the quantum coherence and entanglement necessary for quantum computation within a single neuron.

06/11/00 - Introduction to Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is defined as fabrication of devices with atomic or molecular scale precision. Devices with minimum feature sizes less than 100 nanometers (nm) are considered to be products of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology has arrived!

05/28/00 - Nanotech Image Gallery Opens
The images in this gallery have been submitted by various nanoscientists/nanoartists around the world. STM, AFM, SNOM, SCM, MFM and other kinds of SPM images, computational models, schematic designs and artistic renditions of any nanoscale phenomena are welcome here.

05/14/00 - Biomolecular Self-Assembly
Living systems have a vast array of molecular components that are specially designed for self-assembly. Why build your own components when you can borrow DNA, protein and lipids from nature?

04/16/00 - Seeing Things That are Smaller Than Light
Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) is a family of techniques that allows one to observe and create features far smaller than the wavelength of visible light. STM, SFM (AFM), SNOM (NSOM), MFM and SCM are just a few of the sub-fields.

03/30/00 - Nanomachines
When Micro-Electromechanical Sysems (MEMS) meet biotechnology the result is NEMS. Researchers at Cornell University have borrowed a molecular machine from nature, ATPase and have measured its mechanical properties such as torque and efficiency.

03/22/00 - Drexlerian Molecular Modeling
3D CAD of nanoscale sysems is an important part of nanotechnology. The Drexlerian concept is to design nanomechanical devices that can be eventually be built when our ability to assemble molecular components is improved.

03/15/00 - Nanotech Math - Dimensional Analysis
Nanoscale objects can behave as 3, 2, 1, 0 or fractional dimensional objects. For instance, a two diemsional monolayer of molecules on the surface of water (LB film) responds to lateral pressure in a way analagous to a three dimensional gas.

03/08/00 - Quantum Dots
Quantum dots have zero dimensional electronic properties and could be used as the qubits in quantum computers. Quantum dots are nothing new to biological systems, which use them for everything from photosynthesis to the electron transport chain.

03/01/00 - DNA Mediated Energy Transfer
The ability of DNA to transfer electrons through the center of the double helix has been established by recent experiments. As biologists figure out what this means for medicine, nanoscientists are using DNA to assemble anoelectronic devices.