Close scrutinyImagine: two giga-microscopes that make it possible to study objects that are up to 70 centimeters high and weighing 300 kilograms.
These raster-electron-microscopes can discern details up to five nanometers. They’re in proud possession of these uber-microscopes at Aken’s Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule and the Universität Erlingen. The Germans will start using the microscopes this year. It may seem a bit silly to use a microscope to study large objects, but any material engineer would disagree. Think of a complete engine block, or a part of a turbine, that must be closely inspected to discover microscopic irregularities. If it weren’t for the microscopes, one would have to saw off a piece of the turbine or engine block. The microscope costs around 3 million euros.
Nano-risks
It’s impossible to totally exclude the health risks of nanotechnology, concludes toxicologist Professor Gunther Oberdorster (Rochester University, NY), after experimenting with rats. The results of his study were published in ‘Inhalation Toxicology’. After rats had inhaled nanoparticles, the particles were then found in their brains. The assumption was that the particles would travel no further than the rats’ lungs. The animals seemed not to be affected, but Oberdorster doesn’t rule out that a similar situation involving people could lead to brain damage. Because they’re so incredibly small, nanoparticles stay longer in the atmosphere. Presently, the amount of nanoparticles being produced is very small, but insiders predict that nanotechnology will grow into a global industry in the next few decades. There’s a fierce debate going on about the possible environmental and health risks of nanoproducts. Some people even advocate a worldwide ban on nanotechnology. Oberdorster won’t go that far, but says further toxicological studies are necessary.
German ambitions
Don’t let that headline scare you. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder wants to found ten new universities in Germany that will be on a par with American temples of wisdom like Stanford and Harvard. He also wants to spend 3.5 percent of the bruto national product on research, a one percent increase on current spending. Germany wants to regain its leading position in terms of science and innovation. Transportation engineering and second-generation Internet technology will be the main focus of the research. The opposition has been scathing in its reaction to Schröder%s plans, however. The quality of the German Universität and Hochschule is among the lowest in the industrial world and students regularly protest against spending cuts and overcrowded lecture rooms.
Makeover
Remember those bad old days, when bicycling on the Mekelweg was a hazardous enterprise, because the street was badly lit and the pavement was uneven? When menacing tree roots seemed to want to grab your bike and the bike-path was way too small and seemed to whisper, ‘Please, make me beautiful’. Well, those bad old days are over. The Mekelweg bike-path has undergone a drastic facelift. Instead of two bike-paths there is now one. But it’s better lit (so well-lit that you can actually still see colors at night) and the pavement is even and smooth. In the past, TU Delft had received many complaints about loose street tiles and tree roots growing through the pavement, which prompted this bike-path make-over.
Laser cheese-slicer
A University of Wisconsin (USA) researcher discovered a better way to slice cheese % use a laser. Traditional cheese processing was inefficient. Large cutting machines needed too much care to keep cheese from becoming contaminated by bacteria. It was also impossible to cut cheese really thin without it sticking to the cutting blade. But now Xiaochun Li, a mechanical engineering professor, has adapted the same kind of laser used for eye surgery to slice cheese. Li%s new cheese-cutting laser emits light in shorter, ultraviolet wavelengths, blasting apart the molecular bonds that hold materials together.
Close scrutiny
Imagine: two giga-microscopes that make it possible to study objects that are up to 70 centimeters high and weighing 300 kilograms. These raster-electron-microscopes can discern details up to five nanometers. They’re in proud possession of these uber-microscopes at Aken’s Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule and the Universität Erlingen. The Germans will start using the microscopes this year. It may seem a bit silly to use a microscope to study large objects, but any material engineer would disagree. Think of a complete engine block, or a part of a turbine, that must be closely inspected to discover microscopic irregularities. If it weren’t for the microscopes, one would have to saw off a piece of the turbine or engine block. The microscope costs around 3 million euros.
Nano-risks
It’s impossible to totally exclude the health risks of nanotechnology, concludes toxicologist Professor Gunther Oberdorster (Rochester University, NY), after experimenting with rats. The results of his study were published in ‘Inhalation Toxicology’. After rats had inhaled nanoparticles, the particles were then found in their brains. The assumption was that the particles would travel no further than the rats’ lungs. The animals seemed not to be affected, but Oberdorster doesn’t rule out that a similar situation involving people could lead to brain damage. Because they’re so incredibly small, nanoparticles stay longer in the atmosphere. Presently, the amount of nanoparticles being produced is very small, but insiders predict that nanotechnology will grow into a global industry in the next few decades. There’s a fierce debate going on about the possible environmental and health risks of nanoproducts. Some people even advocate a worldwide ban on nanotechnology. Oberdorster won’t go that far, but says further toxicological studies are necessary.
German ambitions
Don’t let that headline scare you. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder wants to found ten new universities in Germany that will be on a par with American temples of wisdom like Stanford and Harvard. He also wants to spend 3.5 percent of the bruto national product on research, a one percent increase on current spending. Germany wants to regain its leading position in terms of science and innovation. Transportation engineering and second-generation Internet technology will be the main focus of the research. The opposition has been scathing in its reaction to Schröder%s plans, however. The quality of the German Universität and Hochschule is among the lowest in the industrial world and students regularly protest against spending cuts and overcrowded lecture rooms.
Makeover
Remember those bad old days, when bicycling on the Mekelweg was a hazardous enterprise, because the street was badly lit and the pavement was uneven? When menacing tree roots seemed to want to grab your bike and the bike-path was way too small and seemed to whisper, ‘Please, make me beautiful’. Well, those bad old days are over. The Mekelweg bike-path has undergone a drastic facelift. Instead of two bike-paths there is now one. But it’s better lit (so well-lit that you can actually still see colors at night) and the pavement is even and smooth. In the past, TU Delft had received many complaints about loose street tiles and tree roots growing through the pavement, which prompted this bike-path make-over.
Laser cheese-slicer
A University of Wisconsin (USA) researcher discovered a better way to slice cheese % use a laser. Traditional cheese processing was inefficient. Large cutting machines needed too much care to keep cheese from becoming contaminated by bacteria. It was also impossible to cut cheese really thin without it sticking to the cutting blade. But now Xiaochun Li, a mechanical engineering professor, has adapted the same kind of laser used for eye surgery to slice cheese. Li%s new cheese-cutting laser emits light in shorter, ultraviolet wavelengths, blasting apart the molecular bonds that hold materials together.
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