In our last class we discussed how nanotechnology is not just used in one field but is interdisciplinary. This was interesting so I decided to look at what is being done in the field, and not in consumer products. In this article it discusses how changing the material used in superconducting tunnel junctions affects the data obtained from instruments using the changing materials. Two researchers, Lodewijk and Zijlstra realized that by replacing the aluminum oxide with aluminum nitride increased the range of spectral data obtained and aluminum nitride does not leak like the aluminum oxide did. Lodewijk's research helped him in his pursuit of a Ph.D. and has helped the world at large. Lodewijk's research has helped in the advancement of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) which is used to obtain information on the universe. This Array has been being developed for years and data obtained from it, researchers want to use to see how stars and planets are formed. ALMA with this new material will give better information to researchers, astronomists, and other scientists. This new material will help make ALMA a better instrument for obtaining data and will help in its implementation in 2012.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090202102940.htm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment