Nano News: 09/17/15

Laser ablation boosts terahertz emission

From almost instantaneous wireless transfer of huge amounts of data and easy detection of explosives, weapons, or harmful gases, to safe 3-D medical imaging and new advances in spectroscopy —technologies based on terahertz (THz) radiation, the electro-magnetic band with wavelengths from 0.1 to 1 mm, can transform science fiction into reality. However,...

Identification of atomic species at the surface of anatase titanium dioxide by SPM

A NIMS research team successfully identified the atoms and common defects existing at the most stable surface of the anatase form of titanium dioxide by characterizing this material at the atomic scale with scanning probe microscopy. This work was published under an open access policy in the online version of ("Atomic species identification at the...

Hierarchies in matter

A single neuron in isolation cannot be said to possess memory, feelings, or consciousness. However, group many neurons together and the type of advanced information processing that takes place in the human brain suddenly appears. This suggests that perhaps each level in the micro-macro hierarchy can only be understood with a different logic. Might...