The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has a team of scientists testing micro and nano technology to use on spacecraft. The goal is to reduce the reflection off the surface of the instruments so that the data does not get polluted by the scattered light. The carbon nanotubes that the team grows have proven to be 10 times better than the NASA Z306 paint, currently used on spacecraft instruments. The nanotubes are also very robust and can be grown on different materials. The team is really close to getting the carbon nanotubes approved for spaceflight. Video Rating: 5 / 5
Dmitri Tsyboulski performs single nanotube experiment with tunable Ti:Sapphire laser Trestles Finesse. More details on related research can be found on Professor Bruce Weisman website. Dr. R. Bruce Weisman and his group investigate the spectroscopy and photophysics of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. All of these are closed nanoscopic structures formed from carbon atoms. Fullerenes, such as C60, C70, and their chemical derivatives, have unusual molecular properties that cause interesting behaviors following the absorption of light. Time-resolved absorption and emission methods are used to study radiationless decay, photochemical reactions, and energy transfer in fullerenes. Another major research topic is single-walled carbon nanotube spectroscopy. Following the discovery in Weisman?s lab of near-infrared nanotube fluorescence, the group has measured and unraveled the absorption and emission spectra of more than 30 semiconducting nanotube species. Follow-up projects include detailed elucidation of nanotube electronic structure, as well as applications in non-invasive biomedical imaging and analytical nanotechnology. Few publications and abstracts are cited below: Laurent Cognet, Dmitri A. Tsyboulski, John-David R. Rocha, Condell D. Doyle, James M. Tour and R. Bruce Weisman “Stepwise Quenching of Exciton Fluorescence in Carbon Nanotubes by Single Molecule Reactions.” Science, 316 (2007): 1465-1468. Dmitry Tsyboulski, Ph.D. “Spectroscopic and Optical Imaging Studies of … Video Rating: 5 / 5
