Saturday, July 26, 2025
ADVT 
Tech

Creating specialised crystals with milk, fog

Darpan News Desk IANS, 23 Jul, 2014 07:40 AM
  • Creating specialised crystals with milk, fog
Creating highly purified crystals to make high-powered lenses, specialised optics and computers for consumers can no longer be a difficult and expensive method.
 
Researchers at Princeton and Columbia universities have used a new method to grow these specialised materials, known as photonic crystals, with ease.
 
"Our results point to a previously unexplored path for making defect-free crystals using inexpensive ingredients," said Athanassios Panagiotopoulos from Princeton University.
 
The researchers proposed that photonic crystals could be created from a mixture in which particles of one type are dispersed throughout another material.
 
Called colloidal suspensions, these mixtures include things like milk or fog. Under certain conditions, these dispersed particles can combine into crystals.
 
Essentially, the researchers showed that adding precisely sized chains of molecules - called polymers - to the colloid mixture allows them to impose order on the crystal as it forms.
 
"The polymers control what structures are allowed to form," added lead author Nathan Mahynski, a graduate student in chemical and biological engineering from Princeton University.
 
If you understand how the polymer interacts with the colloids in the mixture, you can use that to create a desired crystal, he noted.
 
Changing the polymer affects which crystal form is most stable. As the crystal forms, the polymer helps set the crystal's shape, the study suggested.
 
"The polymer and the crystal work like a lock and key - they fit together in the crystal structure," said the study published in the journal Nature Communications

MORE Tech ARTICLES

Workplace ostracism more damaging than bullying

Workplace ostracism more damaging than bullying
If your colleagues give you the cold shoulder at work, this can not only make your urge to quit the job stronger but also do more harm to your health than bullying.

Workplace ostracism more damaging than bullying

How To Add Zing To Your Selfie

How To Add Zing To Your Selfie
A new algorithm developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers could transfer acclaimed photographers' signature styles to your own smart phone photos.

How To Add Zing To Your Selfie

Kill cynicism, be positive for better brain health

Kill cynicism, be positive for better brain health
 “Be positive” is not merely a motivational punch line. People with high levels of cynical distrust are more likely to develop dementia and other health problems, a new study reveals.

Kill cynicism, be positive for better brain health

Skype app to translate speech in real time!

Skype app to translate speech in real time!
If your friend does not understand the foreign language you speak, web-based translator may no longer be the only option as Microsoft has developed an app for Skype that can almost translate conversations in real time.

Skype app to translate speech in real time!

New Google Glass-like device to minimise eye fatigue

New Google Glass-like device to minimise eye fatigue
Scanning your smart phone to find the nearest restaurant or directing Google Glass to show you a detailed map of the street is all fine but augmented reality (AR) is not good for your eyes in the long run.

New Google Glass-like device to minimise eye fatigue

Book a seat for zero gravity experience in space!

Book a seat for zero gravity experience in space!
Have Rs.1.5 crore in your kitty? You can get a seat on Richard Branson-owned Virgin space travel's flight for a 'Zero Gravity' (ZeroG) experience in space.

Book a seat for zero gravity experience in space!