Till now we have learned that matter can cause bending of light such as prisms, lenses etc. But now researchers at Michigan State University have found the reverse is also true that the light makes nano-particle ribbons twist.
Researchers first place nano-particle (billionth of a meter) ribbons in a darkened room, initially, they were flat but when the light was made incident on them they mysteriously twisted, they curled up.
How did this happen?
The surface of the nanoparticles in this experiment was made of cadmium sulfide. They had a slightly negative electromagnetic charge in the beginning. But when photons, or particles of light, hit the nanoparticles, their energy excited electrons on the nanoparticles, causing chemical reactions that made them even more negatively charged. Since two negative charges repel each other, the nanoparticles began to repel more strongly.
It took them three and a half years to really figure out how photons of light can lead to such a remarkable change in rigid structures a thousand times bigger than molecules!!
"I didn't believe it at the beginning," said lead researcher Nicholas Kotov, an engineer at the University of Michigan. "What's happening is a layer of nanoparticles starts repulsing from the others, so it creates mechanical stress, and in order to release this stress the ribbon twists itself," says Kotov.
The outcome of this experiment can be mind-blowing like self-repairing materials, the introduction of some new technologies.
Well, what remains is the progress and detailed study of this experiment.
To get the latest updates about the world Science and Technology subscribe to the blog Like us on Facebook and follow me on Google+
Source: LiveScience
(After 72 hours of exposure to ambient light, strands of nanoparticles twisted and bunched together. Credit: Nicholas Kotov)
Researchers first place nano-particle (billionth of a meter) ribbons in a darkened room, initially, they were flat but when the light was made incident on them they mysteriously twisted, they curled up.
How did this happen?
The surface of the nanoparticles in this experiment was made of cadmium sulfide. They had a slightly negative electromagnetic charge in the beginning. But when photons, or particles of light, hit the nanoparticles, their energy excited electrons on the nanoparticles, causing chemical reactions that made them even more negatively charged. Since two negative charges repel each other, the nanoparticles began to repel more strongly.
It took them three and a half years to really figure out how photons of light can lead to such a remarkable change in rigid structures a thousand times bigger than molecules!!
"I didn't believe it at the beginning," said lead researcher Nicholas Kotov, an engineer at the University of Michigan. "What's happening is a layer of nanoparticles starts repulsing from the others, so it creates mechanical stress, and in order to release this stress the ribbon twists itself," says Kotov.
The outcome of this experiment can be mind-blowing like self-repairing materials, the introduction of some new technologies.
Well, what remains is the progress and detailed study of this experiment.
To get the latest updates about the world Science and Technology subscribe to the blog Like us on Facebook and follow me on Google+
Source: LiveScience
