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Self-Assembling, Nanometer-Scale Wires

Posted by michael on from the will-make-category-five-like-this-some-day dept.

savi writes: "An experiment that University of Chicago physicists conducted just for fun has unexpectedly led them to a new technique for producing nanoscale structures. "This is perhaps the first time that it has been possible to assemble large numbers of parallel, continuous wires that are truly nanometer scale in cross-section," said Heinrich Jaeger, Professor in Physics at the University of Chicago. Check it out here."

6 comments

  1. Alabama White Knights, this is modern day? by chemstar · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Klan Membership
    www.kukluxklan.net

    1. Membership in the AWK is open only to those qualified white persons who meet our standards. We do not accept Negroes, Mexicans, Jews, Asians, or any mongrels or mixture between white and thereof.
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    3. If you live outside the state of Alabama, we suggest going to www.kkk.com , and browse through the kkkontacts link for a Klan organization nearest you. However, the white public is welcome at ur rallies no matter where you live, but for organizational purposes, members must reside in Alabama.

    4. Membership in the Alabama White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is open only to White, Aryan, Non-Jewish, Caucasian, Tuetonic, European descended peoples. The term "White" or "Aryan" includes all fair skinned peoples of European descent; including Irish, English, Scottish, Dutch, German, Scandinavian, Italian, French, Austrian, Polish, Slavic, Russian etc. The terms "White" or "Aryan" do not refer to Asian, African, Jewish, Middle Eastern, Carribean, South American, Latino, Hispanic, Mexican, or Pacific Islander or any mixture between white and thereof. Austrialian or South African heritage is acceptible as these are descended from white European nations.

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  2. Theoretical limits of electricity by Descartes · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wonder how close these wire are to the point where you can't run a current through them.

    It seems like this would be a pretty simple process for making transistors, though maybe the current process is cheaper because it's so well developed.

    Does anyone know the actual limit for the smallest wire you can pass a current through? I think it's .0somthing mircons...

    1. Re:Theoretical limits of electricity by caffeinated_bunsen · · Score: 4, Informative
      The theoretical limit is one atom wide, on the order of ~2-5 angstroms (10^-10 m) for most metals. These wires are quoted as 10nm, or 100 angstroms across. That works out to about 50 atoms across for silver (face-centered cubic cell 4.09 angstroms on a side, 2 layers of atoms per cell), if I looked up the right value in the table.

      Now back to studying for that solid state physics final.

      --

      Bugrit! Millenium hand and shrimp!
  3. Heinrich Jaeger by Debillitatus · · Score: 1
    Ok, maybe this is a bit off-topic, but if anyone reads any Harry Turtledove, the name is somewhat amusing... one of the major characters in the WorldWar series is named Heinrich Jaeger.

    WooOOo

    --

    Come on, give it up, that's

  4. Interesting contrast to other research by HorsePunchKid · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This previous article was also about a technique for producing very small wires. These wires were grown in water, though, and the scientists were apparently interested in connections to biology. Their goal was to be able to interface with a cell without killing it. The contrasts are interesting, though. These guys are growing wires on a polymer substrate, and are more interested in microelectronics. They appear to be fabricating long, thin, wires with consisten properties. The guys building wires in water were using what appeared to me to be a kind of diffusion-limited aggregation process that produces wispy, highly branching wires with presumably much poorer electrical properties.

    --
    Steven N. Severinghaus
  5. more info on it by CowNutsMack · · Score: 1

    more info on article