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69 nanotimes News in Brief
Friction is a key phenomenon in applied physics, whose origin has been studied for centuries. Until now, it has been understood that mechanical wear-resistance and fluid lubrication affect friction, but the fundamental origin of sliding friction has been unknown. Dr. Lasse Makkonen, Principal Scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, presented an explanation for the origin of sliding friction between solid objects. According to his theory, the amount of friction depends on the surface energy of the materials in question.
Lasse Makkonen: A thermodynamic model of sliding friction, In: AIP Advances, Volume 2, Issue 1, March 2012, Article 012179 [9 pages]:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3699027
Researchers in Ireland have developed a new technology using materials called Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMG) to produce high-precision molds for making tiny plastic components. The components, with detailed microscopically patterned surfaces could be used in the next generation of computer memory devices and microscale testing kits and chemical reactors. The research team explains that with BMGs injection molding equipment it is now possible to create millimeter-sized polymer components.
Nan Zhang, Cormac J. Byrne, David J. Browne, and Michael D. Gilchrist: Towards nano injection molding, In: Materials Today, Volume 15, Issue 5, May 2012, Page 216-221, DOI:10.1016/S1369-7021(12)70092-5:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1369-7021(12)70092-5
The chemist Prof. Felix H. Schacher at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry (IOMC) in Jena, Germany, has developed a novel concept in collaboration with colleagues at Jena Center for Soft Matter (JCSM) and from Bayreuth, Aachen (both Germany), St. Petersburg (Russia) and Pau (France), that allows to precisely and selectively self-assemble hierarchically aligned nanostructures out of well-defined macromolecules. According to Prof. Schacher “such structures might become interesting as carriers for substances or multifunctional sensores in the future.”
Gröschel, A. H., Schacher, F. H., Schmalz, H., Borisov, O. V., Zhulina, E. B., Walther, A., Müller, A. H. E.; Precise Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Multicompartment Micelles, In: Nature Communications, Vol. 3(2012), Article number 710, February 28, 2012, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1707:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1707