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Composites are combinations of materials that produce properties inaccessible in any one material. A classic example of a composite is fiberglass -- plastic fibers woven with glass to add strength to hockey sticks or the hull of a boat. Unlike the well-established techniques for producing fiberglass and other macroscale composites, however, there aren't general schemes available for making nanoscale composites. Now, researchers at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry, in collaboration with researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, have shown how nanocomposites with desired properties can be designed and fabricated by first assembling nanocrystals and nanorods coated with short organic molecules, called ligands. These ligands are then replaced with clusters of metal chalcogenides, such as copper sulfide. As a result, the clusters link to the nanocrystal or nanorod building blocks and help create a stable nanocomposite. The team has applied this scheme to more than 20...

Scientists have found a massive galaxy in the early Universe creating stars like our sun up to 100 times faster than the modern-day Milky Way. The team of international researchers, led by Durham University, described the finding as like seeing "a teenager going through a growth spurt." Due to the amount of time it takes light to reach Earth the scientists observed the galaxy as it would have appeared 10 billion years ago -- just three billion years after the Big Bang. They found four discrete star-forming regions within the galaxy known as SMM J2135-0102. Each regionwas more than 100 times brighter than star-forming regions in the Milky Way, such as the Orion Nebula. They say their results, published online in the journal Nature, suggest that star formation was more rapid and vigorous in the early Universe as galaxies went through periods of huge growth.

A team led by researchers from North Carolina State University has published a paper that describes the use of a technique called atomic layer deposition to incorporate "biological functionality" into complex nanomaterials, which could lead to a new generation of medical and environmental health applications. For example, the researchers show how the technology can be used to develop effective, low-cost water purification devices that could be used in developing countries.

March 22nd is Robert Millikan's birthday. Millikan was an American physicist best known for his famous oil drop experiment. The experiment was designed to measure the charge of the electron. The value for the electron charge is one of the fundamental physical constants and the experiment is a staple of university physics students. Millikan Oil Drop Experiment Determining the Electron Charge by the Millikan Oil Drop Experiment Millikan's oil drop experiment measured the charge of the electron. How the Oil Drop Experiment Worked The original experiment was performed in 1909 by Robert Millikan and Harvey Fletcher by balancing the downward gravitational force and the upward electrical and buoyant forces of charged oil droplets suspended between two metal plates. The mass of the droplets and the density of the oil was known, so the gravitational and buoyant forces could be calculated from the measured radii of the oil drops. Since the electric field was known, the charg...

You find out some interesting things when you leave a black light lying around on the kitchen counter. If you read my blog, you already know bananas are slightly radioactive, but did you know the areas around the spots of ripe bananas glows blue under ultraviolet light? Now you do! If you want to check out other household items for a fluorescent glow, I have a list of things that glow under black light. If you are aware of anything I've missed, be sure to post a reply and I'll take a picture/add it to the list.