Archive for April, 2005

2005-04-27

Powers of Ten, Moore’s Law, and Single Molecule Wires

Filed under: Chemistry,   Computers,   Nano — Geoff @ 11:08 am

I previously discussed plastic electronics — and how molecules and polymers can be electrically conductive.

A key idea to remember is the unbelievable scale of molecules. If I used a conducting polymer molecule ~10 nanometers in length (as an example) and formed a conducting film approx. 1cm x 1cm in size, then to get one electron [...]

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2005-04-26

Plastic Metals?

Filed under: Chemistry — Geoff @ 10:48 pm

[I thought I already posted this, so there will be another post "real soon now."]

The terms “plastic electronics” or (electrically) “conducting plastics” probably sound like contradictions in terms. After all, when we commonly think of polymer materials, we think of soda bottles, plastic bags, nylons and other fabrics — all electrical insulators, not electrical conductors. [...]

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2005-04-20

From “Plastics” to “Nano” — The Graduate Today

Filed under: Chemistry,   Nano — Geoff @ 11:00 am

In the 1967 movie, The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman receives the one-word advice “Plastics.” If Hollywood were to remake the movie right now, chances are that one word would be the hot buzzword “Nano” as in “nanotechnology” or “nanoscience.”

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2005-04-18

Textbooks Lack Connection to Real Chemistry

Filed under: Chemistry,   Writing — Geoff @ 3:14 pm

I think this almost goes without saying — that introductory chemistry classes (and to some degree, also organic chemistry as well) doesn’t fit real research activity in the subject. Moreover, while many concepts taught in introductory classes are absolutely required for further chemistry study (i.e., you need to understand ideas about bonding, writing chemical formulas, [...]

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2005-04-06

Defining “Nanotechnology”

Filed under: Nano — Geoff @ 9:54 am

Before I begin my series of posts on my research, I thought it might be good to start with some definitions. But I’m not sure I could write a well-balanced introduction and definition of “nanotechnology” better than Prof. Richard Jones of Sheffield University.

And yet, despite this superficial agreement on the transformational power of nanotechnology, whether [...]

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2005-04-04

Molecular Gallery » Some Like it Hot?

Filed under: Chemistry — Geoff @ 11:08 pm
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