A Dutch-Japanese team of scientists has built a tiny engine, the size of only one molecule
After the tiny electric motor was built using the technique of creating computer chips - a team of scientists from the Netherlands and Japan managed to create an even smaller motor, the size of only one molecule.
It also became clear that in the field of nano-machines - the tiniest, ultra-small devices, which are not visible to the naked eye or even with a normal microscope - there is still room for further miniaturization.
The new development showed that we are in the development of a new era, beyond the computer and bio-technology eras. This is the age of creating super-tiny machines.
The nanotechnology that deals with miniaturized systems, the size of microns
and molecules, is among the most rapidly advancing fields of science. It is now a high priority in most of the world's first-class universities since it has been recognized that this field of sizes is the basis for the development of any technology in microelectronics, biotechnology and smart materials. It is actually a classic interdisciplinary "meeting point" - between the physics that deals with large systems and the quantum physics that describes molecules and atoms. In connection with chemistry, engineering, mathematics and computer science.
At Beer Sheva University they recently established an infrastructural, multidisciplinary research center for nanometry and mesoscopy. For this purpose, she raised 20 million dollars from private sources. Prof. Yigal Meir was placed at the head of the center. At Tel Aviv University they also started establishing a special institute for nanotechnology.
The new engine is a clear example of what the nanotechnological future holds: the researchers who created it used a complicated molecule, which has a spiral (spiral) shape. An ultraviolet light was projected on her and made her jump in steps, between different forms of structure. The result of the jumps is the rotation of the molecule around an axis defined by two carbon atoms, between which there is a double chemical bond.
It turned out that the process is effective - because it uses light to control the movement of the molecule. In the continuation of the work, the researchers perfected the heart of the unique motor, building the molecule in an asymmetrical way. Now they are working, both on the process that will attach the molecule to different surfaces, and in order to increase the rate of rotation of a molecule by illuminating it. In this way, the molecule rotating around itself will create a kind of "propeller", a propeller, which will be able to move surfaces on which, perhaps, different loads will be placed. Such a surface, equipped with a series of propellers, will act like a raft in a river. Due to its tiny size, the raft will be able to "sail" in the blood vessels, the lymphatic systems and the other fluids in the body, in order to bring medicines to certain, defined and targeted destinations.
The experiments carried out by this group of researchers, along with other similar experiments (also in Israel), constitute a breakthrough in nanotechnology. There is no doubt that many more surprises are expected here that will really change our lives in the coming decades.
Ben-Gurion University will invest approximately 21 million dollars in the center
for research in the field of nanotechnology
Such a center will soon lead to the development of a technology park around the university that will attract high-tech and bio-technology companies to Beer Sheva.
By Yuval Dror, Ha'Artez
Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva has decided to invest approximately 21 million dollars in the establishment of a center for infrastructural research in the field of nanotechnology, one of the most developing fields in the world located at the intersection of biology, chemistry and physics. The head of the center, Prof. Yigal Meir, claims that such a center will soon lead to the development of a technology park around the university that will attract high-tech and bio-technology companies to Beer Sheva.
Ben-Gurion University currently has several research teams in several faculties engaged in nanotechnological research, but the research is carried out at this stage without connection between the faculties. The goal of the new center is to create a common workplace, where the different disciplines will be expressed together. So far, 16 million dollars donated to the university specifically for this purpose have been invested in the new center, which will be invested in the construction of a new building, the purchase of the equipment and the recruitment of personnel that will reach several dozen employees in a few years.
The concept of nanotechnology was already coined in the late 50s, but only in recent years have scientists begun to scratch the surface of the potential in the field. A nanometer is a thousandth of a millionth of a meter, hence it is a space whose area moves around a few atoms. Nanotechnology research examines applications that will allow in the future to build items (whether an electrical circuit or a complete product such as a kettle), from the molecular level upwards - this is in contrast to the current method according to which a product is "carved" from the raw material downwards.
In order to reach applications, it is necessary to study the molecules and the way they behave: "In recent years, we have learned to use the DNA molecules to use them to build electrical circuits. We know how to take advantage of the fact that each DNA molecule is made up of two helices that complement each other perfectly, helices that know how to find each other," Meir explains.
According to him, this feature is especially important when developing tiny electrical circuits and wanting to glue a wire to an electrical circuit, but since the wire is so tiny, it cannot be glued using existing methods. "We attach one coil to the wire and the complementary coil to the electric circuit, and the rest does the chemistry - they will already find each other and stick the wire to the electric circuit." According to him, the research groups at the university succeeded in developing molecules that conduct electricity and thus significantly improve the "molecular glue".
Meir knows how to tell about one start-up company that emerged from this type of research: "The pharmaceutical industry is constantly looking for new antibiotic substances, because the bacteria develop vaccines against existing substances. However, in order to find an antibiotic, lengthy experiments are needed that cost a lot of money. We have developed biological molecules that know how to recognize an antibiotic substance in such a way that one drop of the substance injected into the solution will change the color of the solution to the extent that it contains antibiotic substances." A start-up company was established around this development, which begins commercial marketing of the invention.
But despite the university's successes, Meir admits that research in the field is in its infancy: "People come to the university, take molecules, stretch them, stick them together and try to study their properties. We are only at the beginning."
The money, on the other hand, is not lacking. In recent months, the National Science Foundation from the USA, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, decided that the field of nanotechnology is their preferred field of research, and therefore this year they will allocate several hundred million dollars to research institutes that will delve into the field. In addition, President Clinton allocated 495 million dollars for the establishment of a national program for nanotechnology research, starting with the next budget year.
Commercial companies also develop commercial applications in the field of nanotechnology in their research laboratories. IBM, for example, is developing a storage technology that relies on the molecular level of matter, through greater compression of the matter. To explain the noise, IBM explains that using such a storage system will make it possible to save up to 400 gigabytes of information on one square inch of material.
In Israel, too, there is talk of several research projects, the largest of which are in universities. "We are trying ten projects, of which maybe only one or two will be technologically successful," says Meir. "However, unlike commercial companies that cannot afford 9 failures, we learn from them and move forward."
On one of the most fascinating fields in the field of nanotechnology - quantum computers, Meir, a professor of physics in his specialty, does not want to make predictions: "The first problem in this field is the development of the first building block on which the computer will rest." And when can we purchase a quantum computer? Meir refuses to provide a target date, but says that those who need a computer in the coming months should buy a regular PC and not wait.
yuvaldr@haaretz.co.il
Published in "Haaretz" on 01/08/2000
Tel Aviv University is establishing a research center in the field of nanotechnology with an investment of tens of millions of dollars
Will organize centers for the European Union's R&D program
by Naama Kopelman
The potential in nanotechnology: principle design of mechanical mechanisms
to be built through the ability to control individual atoms
Tel Aviv University is establishing a new research center in the field of nanosciences
And the nanotechnology with an investment of tens of millions of dollars, whatever
The largest research center in the university. The project will be headed by Prof.
Eli Capon, who is considered a world-renowned expert in the field. Capon, used as an investigator
A senior at the University of Lausanne, will come to Israel to manage the center.
A delegation of senior officials from Tel Aviv University is currently in Europe,
As part of a campaign to establish collaborations between the new center and research institutions
Leaders in Europe. The delegation includes the president of Tel Aviv University,
Prof. Itamar Rabinowitz, Vice President for Research Affairs, Prof. Yair
Aharonovitz, and head of the Interdisciplinary Center for Economic and Technological Forecasting,
Prof. Yair Sharan.
Today the delegation is supposed to sign an agreement for cooperation with the research institute
IMEC in Brussels, Belgium, which is considered one of the leading research centers in the field
Nanotechnology, and its research budget amounts to
About 100 million euros per year. The agreement with IMEC is intended, among other things, to allow
Receiving research budgets from the European community.
Nanotechnology is a field of research that deals with developing the ability to perform actions
at the level of individual atoms. The term nanotechnology is derived from the unit
A nanometer, which is one billionth of a meter. For example, computer processors
are currently built with a precision of 0.18 microns, that is 180 nanometers.
Efforts today are aimed at developing a tiny robot on a molecular scale,
which is able to perform operations on individual atoms - take one atom, assume
it in a certain place and repeat the operation over and over. Such an ability would allow
produce any material at low cost. For example, it will be possible to take coal,
which is composed of carbon atoms, and to form a diamond, which is also composed of carbon atoms
arranged differently.
This future robot is called an assembler (ASSEMBLER) and will allow building companies
New technologies. Millions of robots of this type will be able, for example,
Create an atmosphere suitable for life on a planet without an atmosphere, or destroy it
Cancer cells in the human body. According to today's accepted estimates, it will be possible
Build assembler within 40-15 years.
According to Aharonovitz, Tel Aviv University enters the field at exactly the right time.
"Only recently has the world awakened to the potential inherent in my application
Nano-technologies and nano-sciences", said Aharonovitz. According to him, the center
Established as part of a strategic move to develop university programs for research
Multidisciplinary. "Nanotechnology requires the integration of research efforts from different fields
different, such as physics, chemistry, engineering, biotechnology and medicine," he said.
According to him, Tel Aviv University is the first academic institution in Israel
which establishes an integrated body of such a size that focuses on the field. One of his goals
The statement of the center is to carry out the research in close cooperation with
Israeli industry, and within this framework the establishment of a consortium with
Industrial companies in the field.
At the current stage, the research center will operate in vacant spaces at the university, however
The plan is to build a special building for this purpose. The project began in July 2000
And in the first stage, the appropriate equipment infrastructure is established. At the same time, it began
The university is looking for scientists for the center, which will begin to function in practice this year
the nearest Within three years, the future center will reach full activity.
In the coming months, discussions will begin at the university regarding the possibility of opening
Courses for degrees in the field of nanotechnology.
{Appeared in Haaretz newspaper, 27/11/2000{
Contacts to integrate Tower and Intel in the Nanotechnology Center at Tel Aviv University
by Ora Koren
The directors of the nanotechnology center at Tel Aviv University are working for integration
Industrial companies in the center's activities, including Tower Semiconductor, Intel,
All biotechnologies and all electronics. with some companies already formed
First connections. The center will develop miniaturization technologies for industry
Electronics and biotechnology.
As part of the talks, it was agreed, among other things, that the joint general manager of Tower, Yoav
Nissan Cohen, will serve on the Board of Directors of the Nanotechnology Institute. Nissan
Cohen confirmed that he was asked to integrate into the institute's activities, but said that at this stage
Its activity will be on a public basis. According to him, it is possible in the long run
A practical cooperation will develop between the Institute and the Tower.
The field of nanotechnology deals with the development of capabilities of performing operations at a level
of individual atoms (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter). industry
Global Chips is at the beginning of developing miniaturization capabilities, with the goal of producing
Chips less than 0.1 micron thick. Tower's new factory is expected
To produce chips with a diameter of 0.18 and 0.13
Prof. Amichai Freeman, Head of the Biotechnology Institute and Chairman of the Establishment Committee
of the nanotechnology project, said that one of the applications of technology
The nano is the miniaturization of electronic chips and circuits in a method called
Nanowiring (nanowiring). With this method, a wire with a thickness of 3-2 will be produced
nanometer, and this compared to a thickness of 180 nanometers in use today. Developments
These are intended, among other things, for the microelectronics and computer industries.
Another use is in the life sciences industry, and the main one is material integration
Biological like the number of molecules on an electronic circuit. in the healing process
The future ones are expected to incorporate spot healing activity through signals
From an electronic circuit to a biological one - and vice versa. Additional uses for technologies
The nano is the development of new materials with improved optical properties or
Have better pressure resistance, and build small memory units
and compacts based on proteins.
Tel Aviv University signed an agreement about two weeks ago to establish a center
Nanotechnology with the IMEC research institute from Belgium, which is considered one of the leaders
in Europe in the nano field. The research budget of the Belgian center reaches 100
million euros per year. The agreement will allow the university to integrate into the program
The new research and development of the European Union that will start in about two years,
and will also be based on the activity of research institutes. The scope of the current R&D program of
The union is about 15 billion euros.
{Appeared in Haaretz newspaper, 15/12/2000{
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