Looking through telescopes, lenses with more clarity
May 18th, 2011 - 4:06 pm ICT by IANSWashington, May 18 (IANS) Looking through optical instruments like telescopes and eyeglasses could be improved considerably using a highly refined device, diamond aerogel, that researchers here have created.
Aerogels are among the most versatile materials available for technical applications used by chemists, physicists, astronomers, and materials scientists for their myriad applications.
The diamond aerogel, created by the Livermore Lab team of the University of Washington, can have applications in lenses and other optical devices to reduce reflection, according to a statement from the lab.
It can be applied to telescopes, binoculars, eyeglasses or any other device that may require reflection reduction. It also has potential applications in enhanced or modified biocompatibility, chemical doping, thermal conduction and electrical field emission, as published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In creating diamond aerogels, lead researcher Peter Pauzauskie infused the pores of a standard, carbon-based aerogel with neon, preventing the entire aerogel from collapsing on itself.
The success of this work also leads the team to speculate that additional novel forms of diamond may be obtained by exposing appropriate precursors to the right combination of high pressure and temperature.
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