Tag Archives: Stony Brook University

Skyrmions and ultra-thin multilayer film

The National University of Singapore (NUS) and skyrmions are featured in an April 10, 2017 news item on phys.org,

A team of scientists led by Associate Professor Yang Hyunsoo from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Engineering has invented a novel ultra-thin multilayer film which could harness the properties of tiny magnetic whirls, known as skyrmions, as information carriers for storing and processing data on magnetic media.

The nano-sized thin film, which was developed in collaboration with researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and Louisiana State University, is a critical step towards the design of data storage devices that use less power and work faster than existing memory technologies. The invention was reported in prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications on 10 March 2017.

An April 10, 2017 NUS press release on EurekAlert, which originated the news item, describes the work in more detail,

Tiny magnetic whirls with huge potential as information carriers

The digital transformation has resulted in ever-increasing demands for better processing and storing of large amounts of data, as well as improvements in hard drive technology. Since their discovery in magnetic materials in 2009, skyrmions, which are tiny swirling magnetic textures only a few nanometres in size, have been extensively studied as possible information carriers in next-generation data storage and logic devices.

Skyrmions have been shown to exist in layered systems, with a heavy metal placed beneath a ferromagnetic material. Due to the interaction between the different materials, an interfacial symmetry breaking interaction, known as the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), is formed, and this helps to stabilise a skyrmion. However, without an out-of-plane magnetic field present, the stability of the skyrmion is compromised. In addition, due to its tiny size, it is difficult to image the nano-sized materials.

To address these limitations, the researchers worked towards creating stable magnetic skyrmions at room temperature without the need for a biasing magnetic field.

Unique material for data storage

The NUS team, which also comprises Dr Shawn Pollard and Ms Yu Jiawei from the NUS Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, found that a large DMI could be maintained in multilayer films composed of cobalt and palladium, and this is large enough to stabilise skyrmion spin textures.

In order to image the magnetic structure of these films, the NUS researchers, in collaboration with Brookhaven National Laboratory in the United States, employed Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (L-TEM). L-TEM has the ability to image magnetic structures below 10 nanometres, but it has not been used to observe skyrmions in multilayer geometries previously as it was predicted to exhibit zero signal. However, when conducting the experiments, the researchers found that by tilting the films with respect to the electron beam, they found that they could obtain clear contrast consistent with that expected for skyrmions, with sizes below 100 nanometres.

Dr Pollard explained, “It has long been assumed that there is no DMI in a symmetric structure like the one present in our work, hence, there will be no skyrmion. It is really unexpected for us to find both large DMI and skyrmions in the multilayer film we engineered. What’s more, these nanoscale skyrmions persisted even after the removal of an external biasing magnetic field, which are the first of their kind.”

Assoc Prof Yang added, “This experiment not only demonstrates the usefulness of L-TEM in studying these systems, but also opens up a completely new material in which skyrmions can be created. Without the need for a biasing field, the design and implementation of skyrmion based devices are significantly simplified. The small size of the skyrmions, combined with the incredible stability generated here, could be potentially useful for the design of next-generation spintronic devices that are energy efficient and can outperform current memory technologies.”

Next step

Assoc Prof Yang and his team are currently looking at how nanoscale skyrmions interact with each other and with electrical currents, to further the development of skyrmion based electronics.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Observation of stable Néel skyrmions in cobalt/palladium multilayers with Lorentz transmission electron microscopy by Shawn D. Pollard, Joseph A. Garlow, Jiawei Yu, Zhen Wang, Yimei Zhu & Hyunsoo Yang. Nature Communications 8, Article number: 14761 (2017) doi:10.1038/ncomms14761 Published online: 10 March 2017

This is an open access paper.

Cleaning up nuclear waste gases with nanotechnology-enabled materials

Swiss and US scientists have developed a nanoporous crystal that could be used to clean up nuclear waste gases according to a June 13, 2016 news item on Nanowerk (Note: A link has been removed),

An international team of scientists at EPFL [École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland] and the US have discovered a material that can clear out radioactive waste from nuclear plants more efficiently, cheaply, and safely than current methods.

Nuclear energy is one of the cheapest alternatives to carbon-based fossil fuels. But nuclear-fuel reprocessing plants generate waste gas that is currently too expensive and dangerous to deal with. Scanning hundreds of thousands of materials, scientists led by EPFL and their US colleagues have now discovered a material that can absorb nuclear waste gases much more efficiently, cheaply and safely. The work is published in Nature Communications (“Metal–organic framework with optimally selective xenon adsorption and separation”).

A June 14, 2016 EPFL press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, explains further,

Nuclear-fuel reprocessing plants generate volatile radionuclides such as xenon and krypton, which escape in the so-called “off-gas” of these facilities – the gases emitted as byproducts of the chemical process. Current ways of capturing and clearing out these gases involve distillation at very low temperatures, which is expensive in both terms of energy and capital costs, and poses a risk of explosion.

Scientists led by Berend Smit’s lab at EPFL (Sion) and colleagues in the US, have now identified a material that can be used as an efficient, cheaper, and safer alternative to separate xenon and krypton – and at room temperature. The material, abbreviated as SBMOF-1, is a nanoporous crystal and belongs a class of materials that are currently used to clear out CO2 emissions and other dangerous pollutants. These materials are also very versatile, and scientists can tweak them to self-assemble into ordered, pre-determined crystal structures. In this way, they can synthesize millions of tailor-made materials that can be optimized for gas storage separation, catalysis, chemical sensing and optics.

The scientists carried out high-throughput screening of large material databases of over 125,000 candidates. To do this, they used molecular simulations to find structures that can separate xenon and krypton, and under conditions that match those involved in reprocessing nuclear waste.

Because xenon has a much shorter half-life than krypton – a month versus a decade – the scientists had to find a material that would be selective for both but would capture them separately. As xenon is used in commercial lighting, propulsion, imaging, anesthesia and insulation, it can also be sold back into the chemical market to offset costs.

The scientists identified and confirmed that SBMOF-1 shows remarkable xenon capturing capacity and xenon/krypton selectivity under nuclear-plant conditions and at room temperature.

The US partners have also made an announcement with this June 13, 2016 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) news release (also on EurekAlert), Note: It is a little repetitive but there’s good additional information,

Researchers are investigating a new material that might help in nuclear fuel recycling and waste reduction by capturing certain gases released during reprocessing. Conventional technologies to remove these radioactive gases operate at extremely low, energy-intensive temperatures. By working at ambient temperature, the new material has the potential to save energy, make reprocessing cleaner and less expensive. The reclaimed materials can also be reused commercially.

Appearing in Nature Communications, the work is a collaboration between experimentalists and computer modelers exploring the characteristics of materials known as metal-organic frameworks.

“This is a great example of computer-inspired material discovery,” said materials scientist Praveen Thallapally of the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. “Usually the experimental results are more realistic than computational ones. This time, the computer modeling showed us something the experiments weren’t telling us.”

Waste avoidance

Recycling nuclear fuel can reuse uranium and plutonium — the majority of the used fuel — that would otherwise be destined for waste. Researchers are exploring technologies that enable safe, efficient, and reliable recycling of nuclear fuel for use in the future.

A multi-institutional, international collaboration is studying materials to replace costly, inefficient recycling steps. One important step is collecting radioactive gases xenon and krypton, which arise during reprocessing. To capture xenon and krypton, conventional technologies use cryogenic methods in which entire gas streams are brought to a temperature far below where water freezes — such methods are energy intensive and expensive.

Thallapally, working with Maciej Haranczyk and Berend Smit of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [LBNL] and others, has been studying materials called metal-organic frameworks, also known as MOFs, that could potentially trap xenon and krypton without having to use cryogenics.

These materials have tiny pores inside, so small that often only a single molecule can fit inside each pore. When one gas species has a higher affinity for the pore walls than other gas species, metal-organic frameworks can be used to separate gaseous mixtures by selectively adsorbing.

To find the best MOF for xenon and krypton separation, computational chemists led by Haranczyk and Smit screened 125,000 possible MOFs for their ability to trap the gases. Although these gases can come in radioactive varieties, they are part of a group of chemically inert elements called “noble gases.” The team used computing resources at NERSC, the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at LBNL.

“Identifying the optimal material for a given process, out of thousands of possible structures, is a challenge due to the sheer number of materials. Given that the characterization of each material can take up to a few hours of simulations, the entire screening process may fill a supercomputer for weeks,” said Haranczyk. “Instead, we developed an approach to assess the performance of materials based on their easily computable characteristics. In this case, seven different characteristics were necessary for predicting how the materials behaved, and our team’s grad student Cory Simon’s application of machine learning techniques greatly sped up the material discovery process by eliminating those that didn’t meet the criteria.”

The team’s models identified the MOF that trapped xenon most selectively and had a pore size close to the size of a xenon atom — SBMOF-1, which they then tested in the lab at PNNL.

After optimizing the preparation of SBMOF-1, Thallapally and his team at PNNL tested the material by running a mixture of gases through it — including a non-radioactive form of xenon and krypton — and measuring what came out the other end. Oxygen, helium, nitrogen, krypton, and carbon dioxide all beat xenon out. This indicated that xenon becomes trapped within SBMOF-1’s pores until the gas saturates the material.

Other tests also showed that in the absence of xenon, SBMOF-1 captures krypton. During actual separations, then, operators would pass the gas streams through SBMOF-1 twice to capture both gases.

The team also tested SBMOF-1’s ability to hang onto xenon in conditions of high humidity. Humidity interferes with cryogenics, and gases must be dehydrated before putting them through the ultra-cold method, another time-consuming expense. SBMOF-1, however, performed quite admirably, retaining more than 85 percent of the amount of xenon in high humidity as it did in dry conditions.

The final step in collecting xenon or krypton gas would be to put the MOF material under a vacuum, which sucks the gas out of the molecular cages for safe storage. A last laboratory test examined how stable the material was by repeatedly filling it up with xenon gas and then vacuuming out the xenon. After 10 cycles of this, SBMOF-1 collected just as much xenon as the first cycle, indicating a high degree of stability for long-term use.

Thallapally attributes this stability to the manner in which SBMOF-1 interacts with xenon. Rather than chemical reactions between the molecular cages and the gases, the relationship is purely physical. The material can last a lot longer without constantly going through chemical reactions, he said.

A model finding

Although the researchers showed that SBMOF-1 is a good candidate for nuclear fuel reprocessing, getting these results wasn’t smooth sailing. In the lab, the researchers had followed a previously worked out protocol from Stony Brook University to prepare SBMOF-1. Part of that protocol requires them to “activate” SBMOF-1 by heating it up to 300 degrees Celsius, three times the temperature of boiling water.

Activation cleans out material left in the pores from MOF synthesis. Laboratory tests of the activated SBMOF-1, however, showed the material didn’t behave as well as it should, based on the computer modeling results.

The researchers at PNNL repeated the lab experiments. This time, however, they activated SBMOF-1 at a lower temperature, 100 degrees Celsius, or the actual temperature of boiling water. Subjecting the material to the same lab tests, the researchers found SBMOF-1 behaving as expected, and better than at the higher activation temperature.

But why? To figure out where the discrepancy came from, the researchers modeled what happened to SBMOF-1 at 300 degrees Celsius. Unexpectedly, the pores squeezed in on themselves.

“When we heated the crystal that high, atoms within the pore tilted and partially blocked the pores,” said Thallapally. “The xenon doesn’t fit.”

Armed with these new computational and experimental insights, the researchers can explore SBMOF-1 and other MOFs further for nuclear fuel recycling. These MOFs might also be able to capture other noble gases such as radon, a gas known to pool in some basements.

Researchers hailed from several other institutions as well as those listed earlier, including University of California, Berkeley, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and IMDEA Materials Institute in Spain. This work was supported by the [US] Department of Energy Offices of Nuclear Energy and Science.

Here’s an image the researchers have provided to illustrate their work,

Caption: The crystal structure of SBMOF-1 (green = Ca, yellow = S, red = O, gray = C, white = H). The light blue surface is a visualization of the one-dimensional channel that SBMOF-1 creates for the gas molecules to move through. The darker blue surface illustrates where a Xe atom sits in the pores of SBMOF-1 when it adsorbs. Credit: Berend Smit/EPFL/University of California Berkley

Caption: The crystal structure of SBMOF-1 (green = Ca, yellow = S, red = O, gray = C, white = H). The light blue surface is a visualization of the one-dimensional channel that SBMOF-1 creates for the gas molecules to move through. The darker blue surface illustrates where a Xe atom sits in the pores of SBMOF-1 when it adsorbs. Credit: Berend Smit/EPFL/University of California Berkley

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Metal–organic framework with optimally selective xenon adsorption and separation by Debasis Banerjee, Cory M. Simon, Anna M. Plonka, Radha K. Motkuri, Jian Liu, Xianyin Chen, Berend Smit, John B. Parise, Maciej Haranczyk, & Praveen K. Thallapally. Nature Communications 7, Article number: ncomms11831  doi:10.1038/ncomms11831 Published 13 June 2016

This paper is open access.

Final comment, this is the second time in the last month I’ve stumbled across more positive approaches to nuclear energy. The first time was a talk (Why Nuclear Power is Necessary) held in Vancouver, Canada in May 2016 (details here). I’m not trying to suggest anything unduly sinister but it is interesting since most of my adult life nuclear power has been viewed with fear and suspicion.

A science communication education program in Australia

Alan Alda (US actor and science communicator) was invited to celebrate the opening of the Australia National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 according to a March 8, 2016 CPAS press release (Note: Links have been removed),

Actor Alan Alda, best known for his starring role in the television series M*A*S*H, opened new facilities for CPAS today [March 8, 2016].

Mr Alda, US Ambassador to Australia his Excellency John Berry, ANU [Australian National University] Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt, and CPAS Director Professor Joan Leach opened the new building with speeches in the greenery of University Avenue, followed by ribbon cutting at the new CPAS office.

The opening follows a new partnership agreement between CPAS and the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, based in Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism in the United States.

Mr Alda is a visiting professor in Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism and was a founding member of the Alda Center in 2009. His vision was to teach scientists the skills he had mastered as an actor to help them communicate better with policymakers and the public.

Mr Alda said it was time for CPAS and the Alan Alda Centre to join forces and to start collaborating.

“It couldn’t be better. We both have something to offer the other,” Mr Alda said.

“The Centre here has an extraordinary grasp of the history and theory of science communication. We have in turn innovative ways of teaching the actual skills of communication.

“We have turned many people who are not comfortable facing an audience, or even worse comfortable facing an audience but making an audience uncomfortable facing them, we’ve turned them into master communicators, and they are happy about it and their science is reaching the pubic.”

Professor Schmidt said the new facilities celebrated the partnership between ANU and the Alan Alda Center and he looked forward to seeing the result of the new collaboration.

“CPAS is one of the jewels in the crown of ANU,” Professor Schmidt said.

“The centre is Australia’s oldest and most diverse academic science communication centre, and it was formed in 1996. It took very special people to come up with the vision for CPAS, and its development blazed a trail that has been emulated since by other institutions.”

The event was completed by a two hour workshop for CPAS students and stuff run by Alda Center Associate Director, Dr Christine O’Connell, and Mr Alda. The workshop was the first taste of the collaborative exchange yet to come between the two institutions.

There is a March 10, 2016 interview/chat with Alan Alda by Rod Lambert and Will Grant featuring text and audio files on The Conversation.com (Note: Links have been removed),

Rod: Did you experience any particular kinds of resistance to try to sell this message that scientists should communicate more?

Alan: Ten or 15 years ago, when I began trying to sell this idea, I did get plenty of resistance. I don’t know how many universities I talked to, it was just a handful, but I didn’t get any enthusiasm until I talked to Stony Brook University in New York, and they started the Center for Communicating Science there, which I’m so thrilled is now collaborating with the National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. It’s like a dream come true, you’re our first international affiliation.

Rod: You’re welcome. Obviously there’s nothing in it for us, we’re just doing this out of the kindness of our hearts (laughs).

Alan: Ha ha ha, well you’ve got all this experience. We’ve got some pretty innovative ideas that we’ve been working on. We kind of use the Stony Brook University setting as our laboratory and we then spread what we’ve learned around the States.

Now we will be sharing it with you and we hope to get your innovations and ideas, and help to share them because we now have the network that’s growing. Every month, it gets a little larger.

We have 17 universities and medical schools and institutions in America that are hooked into this network. We’re going to be sharing all the things, all the creative ideas that come out of each of these places.

That really appeals to me because the people who really want to see communication thrive, the communication of science, they get so enthused about it. It’s hard to get them to stop working night and day on it because you see the results blooming and it makes me very happy.

They also cover Alda’s disinterest in becoming a doctor (ironic given that he’s probably best known for his role as a doctor in the MASH television series) and his presence at the March 9 – 13, 2016 World Science Festival in Brisbane.

For anyone who may recognize the World Science Festival name, it’s the progenitor for this event in Australia (from the World Science Festival in Brisbane About page),

The World Science Festival began in New York in 2008 and is an annual weeklong celebration and exploration of science. Through gripping debates, original theatrical works, interactive explorations, musical performances, intimate salons, and major outdoor experiences, the Festival takes science out of the laboratory and into the streets, parks, museums, galleries and premier performing arts venues of New York City.

The World Science Festival brings together great minds in science and the arts to produce live and digital content that presents the wonders of science and the drama of scientific discovery to a broad general audience. Hailed a “new cultural institution” by the New York Times, the Festival has featured scientific and cultural luminaries including Stephen Hawking, Maggie Gyllenhaal, E.O. Wilson, John Lithgow, Sir Paul Nurse, Glenn Close, Harold Varmus, Yo-Yo Ma, Steven Weinberg, Philip Glass, Eric Lander, Steven Chu, Chuck Close, Richard Leakey, Bobby McFerrin, Sylvia Earle, Anna Deavere Smith, Oliver Sacks, Liev Schreiber, Mary-Claire King, Charlie Kaufman, Bill T. Jones, John Hockenberry, Elizabeth Vargas among many others. The annual Festivals have collectively drawn more than 1.3 million visitors since 2008, and millions more have viewed the programs online.

World Science U is the Foundation’s online education arm where students and lifelong learners can dive more deeply through artfully produced digital education content presented by world-renowned scientists.

The World Science Festival is a production of the World Science Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in New York City. The Foundation’s mission is to cultivate a general public informed by science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future.

WSF Brisbane

The inaugural World Science Festival Brisbane will bring some of the world’s greatest thought leaders to Queensland, showcase local scientists and performers from around the Asia Pacific region, and host the brightest and the best from previous events in New York.

At the World Science Festival Brisbane, the biggest stars of science will present the beauty, complexity, and importance of science through diverse, multidisciplinary programming that is the World Science Festival signature. The inaugural World Science Festival Brisbane will take place between 9 and 13 March 2016 and is presented by the Queensland Museum.

Queensland Museum is located at South Bank in the heart of Brisbane’s Cultural Precinct, and is the most visited museum in Australia*. Permanent attractions include: the Sciencentre, which offers a wealth of interactive science and technology experiences; the Discovery Centre, the Lost Creatures: Stories from Ancient Queensland Gallery; and the Dandiiri Maiwar Aboriginal and Torres Islander Centre.

The Museum also regularly hosts national and international travelling exhibitions and offers a range of public and educational programs and activities, which attract more than 1 million visitors to the Cultural Precinct each year. Queensland Museum exhibits and stores a significant proportion of the State Collection and houses several research and conservation laboratories.

A little digging resulted in a few more details about this WSF Brisbane undertaking in a Media Kit for the 2016 inaugural event.

Exclusive rights have been granted to the Queensland Museum to present the event in the Asia-Pacific region for the next six years.

The inaugural World Science Festival Brisbane will bring some of the world’s greatest thought leaders  to Queensland, showcase local scientists and performers from around the Asia-Pacific region, and host the brightest and the best from previous events in New York.

The inaugural World Science Festival Brisbane will take place over four days and five nights across the South Bank Cultural Precinct from Wednesday 9 to Sunday 13 March 2016.

More than 100 scientific luminaries from nine countries will gather for the inaugural World Science Festival Brisbane at venues across the Cultural Precinct and South Bank.

Some of science’s brightest stars making special appearances at the festival include Emmy award-winning actor, author, science enthusiast and World Science Festival board member Alan Alda; Nobel Laureatephysicist  Brian Schmidt; pioneering marine biologist Sylvia Earle;  celebrated astronaut Andy Thomas; renowned physicist, best-selling author and festival co-founder Brian Greene, and many more.

Tracy Day, Co-Founder and CEO of the World Science Festival remarked, “By recasting science with art, music and story, we’re shifting science toward the centre of culture. We’re touching all those people  who love the arts but run the other way, when it comes to science.

Over 100 events (free and ticketed) make up the World Science Festival Brisbane program from Wednesday 9 – Sunday 13 March 2016. Highlights include:

• Celebrating the recent 100th Anniversary of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, two premiere performances and a deep dive into the science, impact and unresolved mysteries of Einstein’s most profound discovery:

− Light Falls – a new theatrical work featuring festival co-founder Brian Greene and an ensemble cast; written by Greene and created with composer Jeff Beal (“House of Cards”) and the 2015 Tony-award winning team from 59 Productions (An American in Paris);

− Dear Albert – a reading for the stage written by Alan Alda, featuring Jason Klarwein as Albert Einstein, with Anna McGahan and Christen O’Leary;

− Relativity Since Einstein – an illuminating exploration of Einstein’s ground-breaking insights, moderated by Greene and featuring a line-up of top thinkers in the field.

• Street Science! – a free two-day extravaganza for the whole family featuring everything from live turtle hatching, drones, coding workshops and robot combat to gastronomic demonstrations, taxidermy exhibitions and science-adventure storytelling

• New York Signature Events: The line-up for the inaugural WSF Brisbane includes six Signature Events straight from New York. Provocative, entertaining and accessible, these fast-paced programs explore ground-breaking discoveries, cutting-edge science and the latest technological innovations, guided by leading thinkers from around the world, including:

− Dawn of the Human Age – are we entering a new geological epoch: the Human Age?

 − Alien Life: Will We Know It When We Find It? Scientists across disciplines – astronomers, astrophysicists, and astrobiologists – are intensely studying the evolution of life on Earth and listening for signals from outer space to help identify life in the universe.

− The Moral Math of Robots – Can machines learn right from wrong? As the first generation of driverless cars and battlefield warbots filter into society, scientists are working to develop moral decision-making skills in robots. Break or swerve? Shoot or stand down?

• Diverse and uniquely fascinating events for general audiences and students that showcase scientists, researchers, philosophers, artists, authors, inventors and more, exploring and debating questions about the universe, our changing world, and the role science plays in some of the most urgent issues of our time. Including:

− Can We Save our Reefs in Time? – Global ideas that may help preserve our amazing natural reefs are on the agenda when leading experts discuss revolutionary scientific measures that could assist marine scientists and biologists determine exactly what’s happening to the Great Barrier Reef, and indeed reefs all over the world.

− Chasing Down the Comet – landing a spacecraft on a comet at 40,000 k mph, with scientists from the European Space Agency and NASA who actually did it.

− Catching up with the Jetsons: Cities in 2050 – world renowned scientists, urban planners, and futurists consider the future of the city.

−The Martian film and talk – a once in a lifetime opportunity hear an astronaut and a NASA scientist discuss whether the blockbuster movie gets the science right, with Andy Thomas and Pamela Conrad.

• Salon events that dive deeper into the science of specific topics with informal discussions challenging participants to consider their shared passions from a fresh perspective.

• Hands-on workshops where budding scientists can spend time with working scientists, learning about their fascinating work in fields as diverse as genetics, art conservation, biology, the environment, ichthyology, game design, zoology, palaeontology, robotics and sports engineering.

Congratulations to the organizers for pulling together an exciting programme. BTW, the original World Science Festival will be taking place June 1 – 5, 2016 in New York.

Getting back to CPAS and for anyone interested in it (the only institution that I’ve seen offering science communication degrees for undergraduates, masters, and PhDs), there’s more from their History page,

The roots of CPAS started to grow in the 1980s, when two ANU academics – physicist Dr Mike Gore (now Professor), the founder of Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre, Questacon, and biologist Professor Chris Bryant, then ANU Dean of Science – started up a Graduate Certificate in Science Communication program. They established it as a formal training program and recognised qualification for groups of postgraduate students who had been performing outreach science shows with Questacon since the early 1980s. That program has become the Master of Science Communication Outreach degree, still run by CPAS, which is the host program for the Shell Questacon Science Circus, still run by Questacon.

In 1996 the ANU employed Dr Sue Stocklmayer (now Professor) as a new science communication academic to work full time on developing the program and other science communication teaching and research ventures at the University. It was she who proposed the establishment of a Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. Professor Bryant was the first CPAS Director, but stepped aside in 1998, when Dr Stocklmayer took the reins. She remained the Director until 2015. In 2016, Professor Joan Leach assumed the role of CPAS Director.

The ibis was chosen as the CPAS mascot because it was the totem symbol of the Egyptian god Thoth, God of Science and Wisdom and Scribe of the Gods. The Ibis is also a ubiquitous travelling bird.

The opening ceremony for CPAS was performed by Professor Richard Dawkins, the first Charles Simonyi professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford. After receiving an honorary degree (Hon D Litt) from the University he spent the rest of the afternoon at CPAS, in its old quarters of what is now the Peter Baume Buiding. There he cracked a ceremonial ‘ibis egg’ and mixed with members of the university. Photos of the event can be seen below.

Since its humble origins CPAS has become a world class science communication centre, growing in staff and student numbers, offering science communication education at all levels from undergraduate to PhD, building a comprehensive research program, and engaging in diverse science outreach and policy activities. CPAS staff regularly travel to numerous countries across the world, offering science communication education, training and support to science communicators, science centre staff and science teachers. In 2000 CPAS became an accredited Centre for the Australian National Commission for UNESCO. CPAS also boasts current partnerships with Questacon, Shell Australia, the National University of Singapore, the Government of Vietnam, the Australian Government’s Inspiring Australia program, the Science Communication Research and Education Network, and the Science Circus Africa initiative.

That’s all, folks.

Memristor, memristor, you are popular

Regular readers know I have a long-standing interest in memristor and artificial brains. I have three memristor-related pieces of research,  published in the last month or so, for this post.

First, there’s some research into nano memory at RMIT University, Australia, and the University of California at Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara). From a May 12, 2015 news item on ScienceDaily,

RMIT University researchers have mimicked the way the human brain processes information with the development of an electronic long-term memory cell.

Researchers at the MicroNano Research Facility (MNRF) have built the one of the world’s first electronic multi-state memory cell which mirrors the brain’s ability to simultaneously process and store multiple strands of information.

The development brings them closer to imitating key electronic aspects of the human brain — a vital step towards creating a bionic brain — which could help unlock successful treatments for common neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

A May 11, 2015 RMIT University news release, which originated the news item, reveals more about the researchers’ excitement and about the research,

“This is the closest we have come to creating a brain-like system with memory that learns and stores analog information and is quick at retrieving this stored information,” Dr Sharath said.

“The human brain is an extremely complex analog computer… its evolution is based on its previous experiences, and up until now this functionality has not been able to be adequately reproduced with digital technology.”

The ability to create highly dense and ultra-fast analog memory cells paves the way for imitating highly sophisticated biological neural networks, he said.

The research builds on RMIT’s previous discovery where ultra-fast nano-scale memories were developed using a functional oxide material in the form of an ultra-thin film – 10,000 times thinner than a human hair.

Dr Hussein Nili, lead author of the study, said: “This new discovery is significant as it allows the multi-state cell to store and process information in the very same way that the brain does.

“Think of an old camera which could only take pictures in black and white. The same analogy applies here, rather than just black and white memories we now have memories in full color with shade, light and texture, it is a major step.”

While these new devices are able to store much more information than conventional digital memories (which store just 0s and 1s), it is their brain-like ability to remember and retain previous information that is exciting.

“We have now introduced controlled faults or defects in the oxide material along with the addition of metallic atoms, which unleashes the full potential of the ‘memristive’ effect – where the memory element’s behaviour is dependent on its past experiences,” Dr Nili said.

Nano-scale memories are precursors to the storage components of the complex artificial intelligence network needed to develop a bionic brain.

Dr Nili said the research had myriad practical applications including the potential for scientists to replicate the human brain outside of the body.

“If you could replicate a brain outside the body, it would minimise ethical issues involved in treating and experimenting on the brain which can lead to better understanding of neurological conditions,” Dr Nili said.

The research, supported by the Australian Research Council, was conducted in collaboration with the University of California Santa Barbara.

Here’s a link to and a citation for this memristive nano device,

Donor-Induced Performance Tuning of Amorphous SrTiO3 Memristive Nanodevices: Multistate Resistive Switching and Mechanical Tunability by  Hussein Nili, Sumeet Walia, Ahmad Esmaielzadeh Kandjani, Rajesh Ramanathan, Philipp Gutruf, Taimur Ahmed, Sivacarendran Balendhran, Vipul Bansal, Dmitri B. Strukov, Omid Kavehei, Madhu Bhaskaran, and Sharath Sriram. Advanced Functional Materials DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201501019 Article first published online: 14 APR 2015

© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

This paper is behind a paywall.

The second published piece of memristor-related research comes from a UC Santa Barbara and  Stony Brook University (New York state) team but is being publicized by UC Santa Barbara. From a May 11, 2015 news item on Nanowerk (Note: A link has been removed),

In what marks a significant step forward for artificial intelligence, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have demonstrated the functionality of a simple artificial neural circuit (Nature, “Training and operation of an integrated neuromorphic network based on metal-oxide memristors”). For the first time, a circuit of about 100 artificial synapses was proved to perform a simple version of a typical human task: image classification.

A May 11, 2015 UC Santa Barbara news release (also on EurekAlert)by Sonia Fernandez, which originated the news item, situates this development within the ‘artificial brain’ effort while describing it in more detail (Note: A link has been removed),

“It’s a small, but important step,” said Dmitri Strukov, a professor of electrical and computer engineering. With time and further progress, the circuitry may eventually be expanded and scaled to approach something like the human brain’s, which has 1015 (one quadrillion) synaptic connections.

For all its errors and potential for faultiness, the human brain remains a model of computational power and efficiency for engineers like Strukov and his colleagues, Mirko Prezioso, Farnood Merrikh-Bayat, Brian Hoskins and Gina Adam. That’s because the brain can accomplish certain functions in a fraction of a second what computers would require far more time and energy to perform.

… As you read this, your brain is making countless split-second decisions about the letters and symbols you see, classifying their shapes and relative positions to each other and deriving different levels of meaning through many channels of context, in as little time as it takes you to scan over this print. Change the font, or even the orientation of the letters, and it’s likely you would still be able to read this and derive the same meaning.

In the researchers’ demonstration, the circuit implementing the rudimentary artificial neural network was able to successfully classify three letters (“z”, “v” and “n”) by their images, each letter stylized in different ways or saturated with “noise”. In a process similar to how we humans pick our friends out from a crowd, or find the right key from a ring of similar keys, the simple neural circuitry was able to correctly classify the simple images.

“While the circuit was very small compared to practical networks, it is big enough to prove the concept of practicality,” said Merrikh-Bayat. According to Gina Adam, as interest grows in the technology, so will research momentum.

“And, as more solutions to the technological challenges are proposed the technology will be able to make it to the market sooner,” she said.

Key to this technology is the memristor (a combination of “memory” and “resistor”), an electronic component whose resistance changes depending on the direction of the flow of the electrical charge. Unlike conventional transistors, which rely on the drift and diffusion of electrons and their holes through semiconducting material, memristor operation is based on ionic movement, similar to the way human neural cells generate neural electrical signals.

“The memory state is stored as a specific concentration profile of defects that can be moved back and forth within the memristor,” said Strukov. The ionic memory mechanism brings several advantages over purely electron-based memories, which makes it very attractive for artificial neural network implementation, he added.

“For example, many different configurations of ionic profiles result in a continuum of memory states and hence analog memory functionality,” he said. “Ions are also much heavier than electrons and do not tunnel easily, which permits aggressive scaling of memristors without sacrificing analog properties.”

This is where analog memory trumps digital memory: In order to create the same human brain-type functionality with conventional technology, the resulting device would have to be enormous — loaded with multitudes of transistors that would require far more energy.

“Classical computers will always find an ineluctable limit to efficient brain-like computation in their very architecture,” said lead researcher Prezioso. “This memristor-based technology relies on a completely different way inspired by biological brain to carry on computation.”

To be able to approach functionality of the human brain, however, many more memristors would be required to build more complex neural networks to do the same kinds of things we can do with barely any effort and energy, such as identify different versions of the same thing or infer the presence or identity of an object not based on the object itself but on other things in a scene.

Potential applications already exist for this emerging technology, such as medical imaging, the improvement of navigation systems or even for searches based on images rather than on text. The energy-efficient compact circuitry the researchers are striving to create would also go a long way toward creating the kind of high-performance computers and memory storage devices users will continue to seek long after the proliferation of digital transistors predicted by Moore’s Law becomes too unwieldy for conventional electronics.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Training and operation of an integrated neuromorphic network based on metal-oxide memristors by M. Prezioso, F. Merrikh-Bayat, B. D. Hoskins, G. C. Adam, K. K. Likharev,    & D. B. Strukov. Nature 521, 61–64 (07 May 2015) doi:10.1038/nature14441

This paper is behind a paywall but a free preview is available through ReadCube Access.

The third and last piece of research, which is from Rice University, hasn’t received any publicity yet, unusual given Rice’s very active communications/media department. Here’s a link to and a citation for their memristor paper,

2D materials: Memristor goes two-dimensional by Jiangtan Yuan & Jun Lou. Nature Nanotechnology 10, 389–390 (2015) doi:10.1038/nnano.2015.94 Published online 07 May 2015

This paper is behind a paywall but a free preview is available through ReadCube Access.

Dexter Johnson has written up the RMIT research (his May 14, 2015 post on the Nanoclast blog on the IEEE [Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers] website). He linked it to research from Mark Hersam’s team at Northwestern University (my April 10, 2015 posting) on creating a three-terminal memristor enabling its use in complex electronics systems. Dexter strongly hints in his headline that these developments could lead to bionic brains.

For those who’d like more memristor information, this June 26, 2014 posting which brings together some developments at the University of Michigan and information about developments in the industrial sector is my suggestion for a starting point. Also, you may want to check out my material on HP Labs, especially prominent in the story due to the company’s 2008 ‘discovery’ of the memristor, described on a page in my Nanotech Mysteries wiki, and the controversy triggered by the company’s terminology (there’s more about the controversy in my April 7, 2010 interview with Forrest H Bennett III).

Lomiko Metals, Graphene ESD, and supercapacitors

My hats off to Lomiko Metals for its publicity efforts. The company cranks out at least three news releases per month and that’s a lot of work for a small company. The Feb. 23, 2015 news release (also a Feb. 24, 2015 news item on Azonano) announces a newish research relationship and a new position for Lomiko Metal’s Chief Esecutive Officer (CEO), A. Paul Gill,

Lomiko Metals Inc. is pleased to announce Graphene Energy Storage Devices Corp. has signed a research agreement with the Research Foundation of Stony Brook University (SBU). Graphene ESD Corp. will partner with the SBU Center for Advanced Sensor Technologies (Sensor CAT) to develop new supercapacitors designs for energy storage. Lomiko Metals Inc. currently owns a 40% stake in Graphene ESD and Mr. A. Paul Gill, CEO of Lomiko, is now appointed a Director of Graphene ESD.

“This agreement is a significant step in expanding collaboration between industry and academia in the furtherance of our Center’s mission to create high-tech jobs in New York,” stated Peter Shkolnikov, Deputy Director of the Sensor CAT. “Energy storage is a rapidly growing field, with SBU is on the forefront of electrochemical energy storage research”.
Initially, Graphene ESD Corp. will provide $50,000 in cash funding to the SUNY Research Foundation which will host research at its Sensor CAT facilities on SBU campus in Stony Brook, NY.

I last mentioned Graphene ESD (Graphene Energy Storage Devices) in a Dec. 5, 2014 posting  when Lomiko announced it was investing in the venture.

As for Lomiko’s publicity efforts, there’s this intriguing Feb. 1, 2015 news release (Note: Links have been removed),

European Union 5 Billion Euro Graphene Research Fund Goliath Moves to Commercialization Efforts While Lomiko Efforts Start to Bear Fruit

Lomiko (“Lomiko”) (TSX-V:LMR, OTC:LMRMF, FSE:DH8B) is raising the alarm regarding Canada’s lacklustre efforts to capitalize on new manufacturing and nanotechnology opportunities while concentrating on the oil industry.

“In twenty years the effect of graphene and 3D printing on society will be amazing, very much like the impact of plastics in the sixties and computers in the eighties. I hope that Canadian finance and government institutions recognize the opportunity for Canada to establish a competitive advantage,” stated A. Paul Gill, CEO. “The EU has put 5 Billion euros into graphene research while most Canadians don’t even know about this Nobel-prize winning material.”

Mr. Gill was recently interview by Business Television regarding Lomiko’s efforts in the field. View the 90 second video clip by clicking here.

Lomiko has been working for two years on graphene commercialization efforts. Partnered with Graphene Labs, Lomiko has launched two ventures in the graphene field. On January 5, 2015 Lomiko announced a summary of its activity in 2014 and 2015 plans to spin-off two new technology companies after the successful launch of Graphene 3D Lab, a company foc used on developing 3D Printing hardware and materials. Lomiko continues to hold 4,396,916 shares or 10.43% of Graphene 3D Lab, 40% of newly formed Graphene Energy Storage Devices (Graphene ESD) and 100% of Lomiko Technologies Inc.

While mention of the European Union’s Graphene Flagship (funding of 1B Euros over 10 years) in contrast with the Canadian scene’s lack of major initiatives in this area seems unexceptionable, it’s a bit unusual to make so much fuss of a funding entity with which you have no relationship (from the Feb. 1, 2015 news release; Note: Links have been removed),

EU FUND – Graphene Flagship

The Graphene Flagship’s overriding goal is to take graphene, related layered materials and hybrid systems from a state of raw potential to a point where they can revolutionize multiple industries. This may bring a new dimension to future technology and put Europe at the heart of the process, with a manifold return on the investment as technological innovation, economic exploitation and societal benefits.

This requires the focus of the Flagship to evolve over the years, placing more resources in areas where this transition is more likely. To accomplish this the Graphene Flagship is looking for new industrial partners that bring in specific industrial and technology transfer competences or capabilities that complement the present consortium. Regarding what nations are eligible to apply, the European Commission (EC) rules are found here.

The selected new partners will be incorporated in the scientific and technological work packages of the core project under the Horizon 2020 phase of the Flagship that is presently being planned and that will run during 1 April 2016 – 31 March 2018.

While Gill’s point is well taken, lately there seems to be more action than usual on the Canadian graphene scene.

Investment in graphene (Grafoid), the Canadian government, and a 2015 federal election (Feb. 23, 2015)

NanoXplore: graphene and graphite in Québec (Canada) (Feb. 20, 2015)

For anyone who’d like to peruse Lomiko Metals’ news releases, go here.

Canadian nano: Lomiko Metals and its graphene supercapacitor project and NanoTech Security at a TEDx in Vancouver (Canada)

As best I can determine Lomiko Metals is involved in a graphene-based supercapacitor project with at least two interlocking pieces. Piece one is described in an Oct. 28, 2014 news item on Azonano,

Lomiko Metals Inc. and its 100% owned subsidiary Lomiko Technologies Inc. are pleased to announce an agreement to license from Megahertz Power Systems Ltd. rights to manufacture and sell three (3) power converter system designs, acquire a pending supply contract with a Canadian LED system integrator and support the research and development of new products.

“The Power Converter Market is a multi-billion dollar market. With the increasing demand for energy-efficient electronic devices, the advent of re-chargeable batteries and the new market for quick-charge supercapacitors, Lomiko has the opportunity to move into a growing market with a profitable business model.”, stated A. Paul Gill, CEO. [emphasis mine]

Lomiko will establish cash-flow under the current Customer Contract within six months which is based on proven and in-demand devices designed by MegaHertz. The creation of an e-commerce site in three to four (3-4) months will increase the customer base for the Licensed Power Systems over the estimated five (5) year product cycle. In the long term, Lomiko and MegaHertz will work on innovative new designs that power products using graphite and graphene based devices to dramatically raise operating efficiencies and help reduce the energy waste for the Electronic equipment, Energy Storage and Automotive Industries worldwide. [emphasis mine]

You can read more about the details in the Azonano news item or in the Lomiko Metals Oct. 27, 2014 news release.

As for piece two, Lomiko Metals has announced a supecapacitor project which would seem to align with the objectives mentioned in the October 2014 MegaHertz deal “… Lomiko and MegaHertz will work on innovative new designs that power products using graphite and graphene based devices to dramatically raise operating efficiencies and help reduce the energy waste … .” From a Dec. 4, 2014 news item on Azonano,

Lomiko Metals Inc. is very pleased to announce it has signed an agreement to invest in a new graphene-related venture, Graphene Energy Storage Devices (Graphene ESD Corp.), a U.S. Corporation.

On December 4, 2013, Lomiko reported on a successful conclusion to Phase I of its Graphene Supercapacitor Project which involved Graphene Laboratories Inc. and Stony Brook University. Graphene ESD Corp. has been formed to commercialize the technology and bring the graphene-based energy storage devices to market.

Supercapacitors bridge the gap between conventional capacitors and rechargeable batteries. They store the most energy per unit volume or mass (energy density) among capacitors. Supercapacitors power density is generally 10 to 100 times greater than normal capacitors or batteries. This results in much shorter charge/discharge cycles than batteries. Additionally, they will tolerate many more charge and discharge cycles than batteries. Incorporation of graphene material in supercapacitor electrodes may further improve energy and power density of the device. Graphene ESD Corp. will develop low-cost graphene-based supercapacitor devices that will be capable of even higher discharge currents. The development will focus on large-scale devices that are projected to have the lowest cost of power and stored energy in its class.

“As reported December 4, 2013, the Phase I Graphene Supercapacitor project yielded encouraging results. Graphene ESD Corp. will build on the success of this project and will be developing a graphene-based supercapacitor. [emphasis mine] The device is designed as a versatile energy storage solution for electronics, electric vehicles and electric grid.” stated A. Paul Gill, CEO of Lomiko Metals Inc. [emphasis mine] Graphene is finding new application in sensors, electronics, and advanced materials. Energy storage is a rapidly developing field which can benefit from the outstanding properties of graphene. We believe that graphene-based devices will deliver the best value for multiple energy storage applications.”

You can find more details both in the Azonano news item and in the Lomiko Metals Dec. 3, 2014 news release.

The second half of this post’s headline concerns a talk by Clint Landrock, Executive Vice President of Products for NanoTech Security Corp. and more, at the Renfrew-Collingwood (a neighbourhood in Vancouver, Canada) TEDx. From an Oct. 29, 2014 news item on Azonano,

Nanotech Security Corp. today announced that Vice President Clint Landrock presented at TEDxRenfrewCollingwood. The independently organized TED event was held on October 24, 2014.

The day-long event brought together more than 400 creators, catalysis, designers and thinkers from the Vancouver area to share ideas around the theme “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Landrock presented on the influence of nature on innovation in technology, using Nanotech’s story as one example of what can be achieved when companies turn to nature as a source of inspiration. …

Landrock’s talk (a little over 11 mins. running time) has now been posted on YouTube or you can find it here. The organizers have posted this description of Landrock,

Clint serves as the Executive Vice President of Products for NanoTech Security Corp., and is a co-founder of IDME Technologies Corp.  He is an expert in the study of nano-optics and biomimicry. Clint currently holds several patents and over a dozen peer-reviewed publications in the field. He completed his bachelor degree in aerospace engineering at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, and his Masters of Applied Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Clint’s interests include commercial applications of nanotechnology and smart polymers, biomimicry, alpine and rock climbing and generally being outside.

I haven’t watched the talk in its entirety but he starts with the wonder and the dark side of technology. As his company, NanoTech Security, is a spin-off from Simon Fraser University and the technology is based on the nanostructures found on the Blue Morpho butterfly’s wing, I imagine the rest of his talk consists of biomimcry and ways of imitating nature as a means of dealing with the damaging aspects resulting from some of our current technologies.

Seeing quantum entanglement and using quantum entanglement to build a wormhole

Kudos to the team from the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology for the great musical accompaniment on their video showing quantum entanglement in real time,

A Dec. 4, 2013 news item on Nanowerk provides more details,

Einstein called quantum entanglement “spooky action at a distance”. Now, a team from the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology has reported imaging of entanglement events where the influence of the measurement of one particle on its distant partner particle is directly visible (“Real-Time Imaging of Quantum Entanglement”).

The Dec. 4, 2013 Andor news release, which originated the news item, gives more details about the team’s work and about the Andor camera which enabled it,

The key to their success is the Andor iStar 334T Intensified CCD (ICCD) camera, which is capable of very fast (nanosecond) and precise (picosecond) optical gating speeds. Unlike the relatively long microsecond exposure times of CCD and EMCCD cameras which inhibits their usefulness in ultra-high-speed imaging, this supreme level of temporal resolution made it possible for the team to perform a real-time coincidence imaging of entanglement for the first time.

“The Andor iStar ICCD camera is fast enough, and sensitive enough, to image in real-time the effect of the measurement of one photon on its entangled partner,” says Robert Fickler of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information. “Using ICCD cameras to evaluate the number of photons from a registered intensity within a given region opens up new experimental possibilities to determine more efficiently the structure and properties of spatial modes from only single intensity images. Our results suggest that triggered ICCD cameras will advance quantum optics and quantum information experiments where complex structures of single photons need to be investigated with high spatio-temporal resolution.”

According to Antoine Varagnat, Product Specialist at Andor, “The experiment produces pairs of photons which are entangled so as to have opposite polarisations. For instance, if one of a pair has horizontal polarisation, the other has vertical, and so on. The first photon is sent to polarising glass that transmits photons of one angle only, followed by a detector to register photons which make it through the glass. The other photon is delayed by a fibre, then its entangled property is coherently transferred from the polarisation to the spatial mode and afterwards brought to the high-speed, ultra-sensitive iStar camera.

“The use of the ICCD camera allowed the team to demonstrate the high flexibility of the setup in creating any desired spatial-mode entanglement. Their results suggest that visual imaging in quantum optics not only provides a better intuitive understanding of entanglement but will also improve applications of quantum science,” concludes Varagnat.

Research into quantum entanglement was instigated in 1935 by Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, in a paper critiquing quantum mechanics. Erwin Schrödinger also wrote several papers shortly afterwards. Although these first studies focused on the counterintuitive properties of entanglement with the aim of criticising quantum mechanics, entanglement was eventually verified experimentally and recognised as a valid, fundamental feature of quantum mechanics. Nowadays, the focus of the research has changed to its utilization in communications and computation, and has been used to realise quantum teleportation experimentally.

The team’s work is chronicled in this study,

Real-Time Imaging of Quantum Entanglement by Robert Fickler, Mario Krenn, Radek Lapkiewicz, Sven Ramelow & Anton Zeilinger. Scientific Reports 3, Article number: 1914 doi:10.1038/srep01914 Published 29 May 2013

This is an open access paper.

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Washington (Seattle, Washington state) explore the quantum entanglement phenomenon with an eye to wormholes (from the De.c 3, 2013 University of Washington news release [also on EurekAlter]),

Quantum entanglement, a perplexing phenomenon of quantum mechanics that Albert Einstein once referred to as “spooky action at a distance,” could be even spookier than Einstein perceived.

Physicists at the University of Washington and Stony Brook University in New York believe the phenomenon might be intrinsically linked with wormholes, hypothetical features of space-time that in popular science fiction can provide a much-faster-than-light shortcut from one part of the universe to another.

But here’s the catch: One couldn’t actually travel, or even communicate, through these wormholes, said Andreas Karch, a UW physics professor.

Quantum entanglement occurs when a pair or a group of particles interact in ways that dictate that each particle’s behavior is relative to the behavior of the others. In a pair of entangled particles, if one particle is observed to have a specific spin, for example, the other particle observed at the same time will have the opposite spin.

The “spooky” part is that, as research has confirmed, the relationship holds true no matter how far apart the particles are – across the room or across several galaxies. If the behavior of one particle changes, the behavior of both entangled particles changes simultaneously, no matter how far away they are.

Recent research indicated that the characteristics of a wormhole are the same as if two black holes were entangled, then pulled apart. Even if the black holes were on opposite sides of the universe, the wormhole would connect them.

Black holes, which can be as small as a single atom or many times larger than the sun, exist throughout the universe, but their gravitational pull is so strong that not even light can escape from them.

If two black holes were entangled, Karch said, a person outside the opening of one would not be able to see or communicate with someone just outside the opening of the other.

“The way you can communicate with each other is if you jump into your black hole, then the other person must jump into his black hole, and the interior world would be the same,” he said.

The work demonstrates an equivalence between quantum mechanics, which deals with physical phenomena at very tiny scales, and classical geometry – “two different mathematical machineries to go after the same physical process,” Karch said. The result is a tool scientists can use to develop broader understanding of entangled quantum systems.

“We’ve just followed well-established rules people have known for 15 years and asked ourselves, ‘What is the consequence of quantum entanglement?'”

The researchers have provided an illustration, which looks more like a ‘smiley face’ to me. Are wormholes smiley faces in space,

Alan Stonebraker/American Physical Society This illustration demonstrates a wormhole connecting two black holes.

Alan Stonebraker/American Physical Society
This illustration demonstrates a wormhole connecting two black holes.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the research paper on quantum entanglement and wormholes,

Holographic Dual of an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Pair has a Wormhole by Kristan Jensen and Andreas Karch. Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 211602 (2013) [5 pages] Published 20 November 2013

This paper is behind a paywall.

ETA Dec. 11, 2013: There’s a news item today, Dec. 11, 2013, on Nanowerk which casts an interesting light on Andor,

Nanotechnology specialist Oxford Instruments is to take over Belfast-based scientific camera maker Andor in a £176million deal.
The Andor board last night agreed a 525p a share offer, giving a 31 per cent premium over the closing price before Oxford’s initial 500p a share pitch in November.

The two companies have been in talks since July [2013].

Shares in Andor rose 10p to 515p and Oxford Instruments gained 8p to 1566p.

It looks like their Dec. 4, 2013 news release was a leadup to this business news.

Lomiko Metals, batteries, graphite/graphene, and a strategic alliance with the Research Foundation of Stony Brook University and Graphene Laboratories, Inc.

Lomiko Metals, a Vancouver-based (Canada)  company, has been mentioned here with respect to a property in Québec (Quatre Milles) containing graphite flakes in an April 17, 2013 posting, which also mentioned the company’s strategic alliance with Graphene Laboratories Inc.

Building on that previous announcement Lomiko Metals has announced a new member to the strategic alliance in a May 30, 2013 news item on Azonano,

LOMIKO METALS INC. (the “Company”) announces that the Research Foundation of Stony Brook University (RF), Graphene Laboratories, Inc. (Graphene Labs) and Lomiko Metals, Inc. have agreed to investigate novel, energy-focused applications for graphene.

“This new agreement with Stony Brook University’s researchers means Lomiko is participating in the development of the technology graphene makes possible,” commented Paul Gill, CEO of Lomiko. “Using graphene to achieve very high energy densities in super capacitors and batteries is a transfomative technology. Strategically, Lomiko needs to be participating in this vital research to achieve the goal of creating a vertically integrated graphite and graphene business.”

The May 29, 2013 Lomiko Metals news release, which originated the news item, has more details,

Under its Strategic Alliance Agreement with Lomiko, Graphene Labs — a leading graphene manufacturer — will process graphite samples from Lomiko’s Quatre Milles property into graphene. The Research Foundation, through Stony Brook University’s Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) and the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (Sensor CAT), will then examine the most efficient methods of using this graphene for energy storage applications. There is no certainty the roposed [sic]  operaton [sic] will be economically viable.

For all parties involved, the goal of this collaboration is to map commercially viable routes for the fabrication of graphene-based energy storage devices. By participating in these projects, the partners will address the cost of graphene production, as well as how best to integrate the material into commercial energy storage devices.

As I find the various business/academic partnerships interesting, I’m including the About section of the news release,

About Graphene Laboratories Inc.

Graphene Laboratories, Inc. primary focus is to apply fundamental science and technology to bring functional advanced materials and devices to market.
Graphene Laboratories Inc. operates the Graphene Supermarket® (www.graphene-supermarket.com), and is a leading supplier of advanced 2D materials to customers around the globe. In addition to the retail offering of advanced 2D materials, it offers analytical services, prototype development and consulting.

Located in Calverton NY, Graphene Labs benefits from the unique high tech community on Long Island. Efforts by Graphene Laboratories are supported by Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook Business Incubator, and the Clean Energy Business Incubator Program (CEBIP), hosted by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

For more information on Graphene Laboratories, Inc, visit www.graphenelabs.com or contact them at (516)-382-8649 or via email at info@graphenelabs.com

About AERTC

Located in the Research and Development Park on the campus of Stony Brook University, the Advanced Energy Incubator is space that is home to companies within the Advanced Energy Center. The Advanced Energy Center (www.aertc.org) is a true partnership of academic institutions, research institutions, energy providers and companies. Its mission is innovative energy research, education and technology deployment with a focus on efficiency, conservation,renewable energy and nanotechnology applications for new and novel sources of energy.

About Sensor CAT

The New York State Center for Advanced Technology at Stony Brook University provides intellectual, logistical, and material resources for the development of new product technologies – by facilitating R&D partnerships between New York companies with an in-state footprint and university researchers. The important outcomes are new jobs, new patents, training of students in company product matters, and improved competitiveness for New York State businesses.

About Lomiko Metals Inc.

Lomiko Metals Inc. is a Canadian based exploration-stage company. Its mineral properties include the Quatre Milles Graphite Property and the Vines Lake property which both have had recent major discoveries. On October 22 and November, 13 2012, Lomiko Metals Inc. announced 11 drill holes had intercepted high grade graphite at the 3,780 Ha Quatre Milles Property. On March 15, 2013 Lomiko reported 75.3% of graphite tested was >200 mesh and classified as graphite flake with 38.36% in the >80 mesh, large flake category. 85.3% of test results higher than the 94% carbon purity considered high carbon content, with the median test result being 98.35%.

The highlight of Lomiko’s testing was nine (9) sieve samples which captured flakes of varying sizes which tested 100.00% carbon. Both fine and flake material may be amenable to graphene conversion by Lomiko Metals Inc. partner Graphene Laboratories.

The project is located 175 km north of the Port of Montreal and 26 km from a major highway on a well-maintained gravel road.

For more information on Lomiko Metals Inc., review the website at www.lomiko.com or contact A. Paul Gill at 604-729-5312 or email: info@lomiko.com

On Behalf of the Board

“A. Paul Gill” Chief Executive Officer

We seek safe harbor. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

I couldn’t resist that last bit either. As I understand it, this means ‘caveat emptor’ or buyer beware. In short do your research.

Gold nanoparticles: more toxic than we thought?

The research from Stony Brook University (New York State) is a bit disturbing but it should be noted that the tests were done ‘in vitro’ which means they took place in a test tube or a culture dish or somewhere else outside the body. Plus, the conditions for this type of testing are usually quite different than those in real life, e.g. the concentration of gold particles may be significantly higher than the concentration an individual would be exposed to at any one time.

Oddly, earlier this week I responded to a query about information on gold nanoparticles from an artist in New Zealand by noting that I had never come across any toxicity or toxicology testing studies but mentioned that mine is a passive approach. I scan aggregators and other news sources but I don’t usually seek out specific  information about toxicity/toxicology.

So here it is, the first gold nanoparticle toxicity study I’ve featured on this blog in almost five years,from an Apr. 18, 2013 news item on ScienceDaily,

New research reveals that pure gold nanoparticles found in everyday items such as personal care products, as well as drug delivery, MRI contrast agents and solar cells can inhibit adipose (fat) storage and lead to accelerated aging and wrinkling, slowed wound healing and the onset of diabetes. [emphasis mine] The researchers, led by Tatsiana Mironava, a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Molecular Engineering at Stony Brook University, detail their research in the journal Nanotoxicology.

The Stony Brook University Apr. 18, 2013 news release, which originated the news item, provides details,

Together with co-author Dr. Marcia Simon, Professor of Oral Biology and Pathology at Stony Brook University, and Director of the University’s Living Skin Bank, a world-class facility that has developed skin tissue for burn victims and various wound therapies, the researchers tested the impact of nanoparticles in vitro on multiple types of cells, including adipose (fat) tissue, to determine whether their basic functions were disrupted when exposed to very low doses of nanoparticles. Subcutaneous adipose tissue acts as insulation from heat and cold, functions as a reserve of nutrients, and is found around internal organs for padding, in yellow bone marrow and in breast tissue.

They discovered that the human adipose-derived stromal cells – a type of adult stem cells – were penetrated by the gold nanoparticles almost instantly and that the particles accumulated in the cells with no obvious pathway for elimination. The presence of the particles disrupted multiple cell functions, such as movement; replication (cell division); and collagen contraction; processes that are essential in wound healing.

According to the researchers, the most disturbing finding was that the particles interfered with genetic regulation, RNA expression and inhibited the ability to differentiate into mature adipocytes or fat cells. “Reductions caused by gold nanoparticles can result in systemic changes to the body,” said Professor Mironava. “Since they have been considered inert and essentially harmless, it was assumed that pure gold nanoparticles would also be safe. Evidence to the contrary is beginning to emerge.”

The study was also the first to,

… demonstrate the impact of nanoparticles on adult stem cells, which are the cells our body uses for continual organ regeneration. It revealed that adipose derived stromal cells involved in regeneration of multiple organs, including skin, nerve, bone, and hair, ignored appropriate cues and failed to differentiate when exposed to nanoparticles. The presence of gold nanoparticles also reduced adiponectin, a protein involved in regulating glucose levels and fatty acid breakdown, which helps to regulate metabolism.

“We have learned that careful consideration and the choice of size, concentration and the duration of the clinical application of gold nanoparticles is warranted,” said Professor Mironava. “The good news is that when the nanoparticles were removed, normal functions were eventually restored.”

Here’s a link to and citation for the study,

Gold nanoparticles cellular toxicity and recovery: Adipose Derived Stromal cells by Tatsiana Mironava, Michael Hadjiargyrou, Marcia Simon, & Miriam H. Rafailovich. Nanotoxicology. Posted online on February 8, 2013. (doi:10.3109/17435390.2013.769128)

As for the aging and wrinkling, you can see the basis for the claims in the paper’s abstract,

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are currently used in numerous medical applications. Herein, we describe their in vitro impact on human adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) using 13 nm and 45 nm citrate-coated AuNPs. In their non-differentiated state, ADSCs were penetrated by the AuNPs and stored in vacuoles. The presence of the AuNPs in ADSCs resulted in increased population doubling times, decreased cell motility and cell-mediated collagen contraction. [emphasis mine] The degree to which the cells were impacted was a function of particle concentration, where the smaller particles required a sevenfold higher concentration to have the same effect as the larger ones. Furthermore, AuNPs reduced adipogenesis as measured by lipid droplet accumulation and adiponectin secretion. These effects correlated with transient increases in DLK1 and with relative reductions in fibronectin. Upon removal of exogenous AuNPs, cellular NP levels decreased and normal ADSC functions were restored. As adiponectin helps regulate energy metabolism, local fluctuations triggered by AuNPs can lead to systemic changes. Hence, careful choice of size, concentration and clinical application duration of AuNPs is warranted.
The researchers’ paper is behind a paywall.

A breath-based and handheld diagnostic device

Researcher Perena Gouma and her team at Stony Brook University (New York, US) are hoping that eventually their device will be available over the counter so anyone will be able to perform a preliminary diagnostic test as casually as you take a breath. From the May 7, 2012 news item on Nanowerk,

You blow into a small valve attached to a box that is about half the size of your typical shoebox and weighs less than one pound. Once you blow into it, the lights on top of the box will give you an instant readout. A green light means you pass (and your bad breath is not indicative of an underlying disease; perhaps it’s just a result of the raw onions you ingested recently); however, a red light means you might need to take a trip to the doctor’s office to check if something more serious is an issue.

Here’s a bit more about the device and the researchers’ hopes in a video from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) featuring the NSF’s Miles O’Brien as the reporter,

O’Brien in his May 7, 2012 article for the NSF’s Science Nation online magazine describes the technology,

With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Professor Perena Gouma and her team at Stony Brook University in New York developed a sensor chip that you might say is the “brain” of the breathalyzer. It’s coated with tiny nanowires that look like microscopic spaghetti and are able to detect minute amounts of chemical compounds in the breath. “These nanowires enable the sensor to detect just a few molecules of the disease marker gas in a ‘sea’ of billions of molecules of other compounds that the breath consists of,” Gouma explains. This is what nanotechnology is all about.

The manufacturing process that creates the single crystal nanowires is called “electrospinning.” It starts with a liquid compound being shot from a syringe into an electrical field. The electric field crystallizes the inserted liquid into a tiny thread or “wire” that collects onto an aluminum backing. Gouma says enough nanowire can be produced in one syringe to stretch from her lab in Stony Brook, N.Y. to the moon and still be a single grain (monocrystal).

“There can be different types of nanowires, each with a tailored arrangement of metal and oxygen atoms along their configuration, so as to capture a particular compound,” explains Gouma. “For example, some nanowires might be able to capture ammonia molecules, while others capture just acetone and others just the nitric oxide. Each of these biomarkers signal a specific disease or metabolic malfunction so a distinct diagnostic breathalyzer can be designed.”

Gouma also says the nanowires can be rigged to detect infectious viruses and microbes like Salmonella, E. coli or even anthrax. “There will be so many other applications we haven’t envisioned. It’s very exciting; it’s a whole new world,” she says.

I think most (if not all) of the handheld diagnostic projects I’ve covered have been fluids-based, i.e., they need a sample of saliva, blood, urine, etc. to perform their diagnostic function. I believe this is the first breath-based project I’ve seen.