FIRST LIGHT-TURNABLE 'PLASTIC' MAGNET
The world's first light-tunable plastic magnet, just developed at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, could result in low-cost, flexible electronics and better computer data storage. With colleagues at the University of Utah, the Ohio State researchers developed a plastic material that becomes 1.5 times more magnetic when blue light shines on it. Green light partially reverses that effect. Although possible applications are years away, this technology could one day lead to a magneto-optical system for writing and erasing data from computer hard drives. "While scientists have developed plastic magnets, and yet others have developed light-responsive magnets, this is the first material to marry both technologies into one -- and at record-high temperatures," says Arthur J. Epstein, of Ohio State. The magnet functions up to a temperature of 75 Kelvin -- about 200 degrees C, or 325 degrees F. The temperature is a key factor for commercial applications.
NASA: NEW EVIDENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE
After examining 22 years of satellite measurements, NASA researchers find that more sunlight entered the tropics and more heat escaped to space in the 1990s than in the 1980s. NASA reports the findings indicate less cloud cover blocked incoming radiation and trapped outgoing heat. "Since clouds were thought to be the weakest link in predicting future climate change from greenhouse gases, these new results are unsettling," says Dr. Bruce Wielicki, of NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. "It suggests that current climate models may, in fact, be more uncertain than we had thought -- climate change might be either larger or smaller than the current range of predictions." The observations capture changes in the radiation budget -- the balance between Earth's incoming and outgoing energy -- that controls the planet's temperature and climate, Science reports. The previously unknown changes in the radiation budget are two to four times larger than scientists had believed possible. The reason why and the degree to which it changed are surprising scientists and create a new test for climate models.
NANOWIRE-BASED ELECTRONICS AND OPTICS A STEP CLOSER
An entirely new generation of powerful ultra-small computers and electronic devices is one step closer, according to researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and a Swedish research team. The two groups independently developed lattices they say will be used to construct nanowires with otherwise incompatible materials for the first time. Such mixed bundles are essential to making electronics and other devices on a smaller scale, researchers report in the journal Nano Letters. "This is a major advancement in the field of one-dimensional nanostructure research -- the impact could be tremendous," says Peidong Yang, a researcher at the University of California. Based on the findings of both research groups, tiny components known as nanowires that meld together a variety of materials could soon be routinely and cheaply built using little more than a special mixture of gases deposited on a foundation material. Just as conventional builders use concrete, wood, metals and plastics to construct buildings, nanoengineers hope to use the innovation to create new classes of nanoscale products that could revolutionize everything from energy production to manufacturing.
HIGH-TECH GEAR HELPS BOOST OLYMPIC RESULTS
Polymer chemistry and materials science have improved the performance of skis, ice skates, hockey sticks, sports apparel and other gear used at the Winter Olympics. According to Chemical & Engineering News, the science behind high-tech gear will be working hard to boost the performance of this winter's Olympian contenders. Skis are engineered with a custom blend of materials which could include wood, wood composite, fiberglass, titanium, carbon fibers, and DuPont's Kevlar to make them lightweight, responsive, strong and durable. Ice skates must be lightweight and form-fitting, yet provide support and impact resistance for quick stops and turns on the ice. Manufacturers stabilize the outside of a skate with composites of fiberglass, carbon and graphite fibers and Kevlar. To create a perfect fit inside the skate, heat-moldable foams and carbon fibers are used. Wood-carbon-glass composites to composites of graphite and Kevlar, are used to ensure the proper flexibility of the hockey stick. If the stick is too rigid, it may shatter on the impact of a high-speed slap shot.
