‘Golden question’ that made Indian scientist probe nanotech
December 8th, 2011 - 8:32 pm ICT by IANSBangalore, Dec 8 (IANS) How many atoms are required to keep gold shining? It was this question asked by a student that made India’s noted scientist C.N.R. Rao take up research in nanotechnology that manipulates matter at atomic and molecular levels.
“When I was teaching at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur 25 years ago, a bright student asked how many atoms were required for gold to shine. I studied the element from 500 to 300 to 200 atoms. At 200 atoms, gold did not shine, it was just a metal. That finding prompted me take up research in nanotechnology,” Rao said at a nanotech event in this tech hub Thursday.
Recalling his quest for discovering the spin-offs of nanotechnology, the next frontier in science, Rao said the “golden” question was asked in the context of the Avogadros Number, which is 6.022 141 99 X 10 raised to the power 23, named after the French scientist Amadeo Avogadros (1766-1856).
“Two-three decades ago, nanotech was just an idea. Since then, the niche science has grown manifold and has a bright future, as evident from the discovery of graphene, a powerful carbon-based allotrope,” Rao told about 500 delegates at the fourth edition of ‘Bangalore Nano’ conference-cum-expo.
Noting that the 2010 Nobel Prize was awarded in physics for a discovery in graphene, Rao said as a powerful carbon-based element, graphine stores hydrogen.
“Initiation and mimic of graphene can find multiple applications in the energy sector and environment,” said Rao, who is also chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council to the prime minister.
Physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were jointly awarded the Nobel last year for ground-breaking experiments on two-dimensional material graphene.
In the US, a large grant of $120 million was sanctioned to California Institute of Technology and University of California - Berkeley for producing hydrogen. In principle, hydrogen can be used to run cars, planes and generate electricity.
“Plants decompose water using nano manganese and produce energy for plants. Artificial photo-synthesis, if done in labs, has tremendous possibilities in electronics. But there are several challenges in this field,” Rao added.
- Scientists conjure graphene out of cookies - Aug 05, 2011
- World's slenderest material to shape future computers - Jul 25, 2011
- Geim and Novoselov awarded the 2010 Physics Nobel for two-dimensional material graphene - Oct 05, 2010
- Two Russians win Nobel in Physics for work on ultra-thin carbon flakes - Oct 05, 2010
- New graphene study could lead to improvements in bluetooth headsets - Oct 19, 2010
- India in danger of missing 'nano bus': PM's scientific advisor - Jul 06, 2011
- World's toughest material spurs next-gen chips - Oct 10, 2011
- Graphane may help make tiny strips of graphene needed for electronic circuits - Aug 01, 2009
- Karnataka to provide more funds to promote nanotechnology - Dec 08, 2011
- Nobel Prize 2010 For Chemistry Physics And Medicine Announced - Oct 06, 2010
- World's thinnest material could come in handy as dispersing agent - Jun 15, 2010
- Graphite-water combo recharges batteries in seconds - Jul 18, 2011
- How and why does graphene break? - Dec 01, 2010
- Stronger than steel 'paper' to make cars! - Apr 29, 2011
- Indian origin scientists make 24-carat gold 'snowflakes' - Oct 14, 2009
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