Blue goo has never looked so good. When Cambridge University scientist Ghim Wei Ho vaporized gallium nitrate in a lab experiment, droplets of the liquid metal condensed on the surface of a silicon wafer. The high temperature and pressure produced tiny silicon carbide wires that fused together into a stunning bouquet of nanoflowers, each about one-hundredth the diameter of a human hair. The blooms' chemical structure is complex and mechanically springy, giving them a remarkable ability to repel water and the potential to capture light. Wei is exploring the goo's use as a material coating and as a revolutionary force in solar cell technology.
- Todd Jatras
credit Ghim Wei Ho/Cambridge University
START
The Amazing Adventures of 802.11
Keep Your Laws Off My Technology
Not Just Another Hollywood Bandshell
Beauty on a Nanoscale
