Blog @ NanoVic - Nanotechnology Blog

When Roger Federer and Serena Williams step onto the court for the Australian Open this month they will have nanotechnology on their side! Wilson Sporting Goods have introduced nanocomposite tennis rackets marketed under the nCode range. nCode is a process where silicon dioxide nanocrystals are integrated into the carbon fiber matrix of the racket to reinforce its molecular structure. This makes the frame up to 2x stronger, 2x more stable and up to 22 percent more powerful compared to other rackets.
Wilson and US based InMat have also produced a new “Double Core” tennis ball that keeps its pressure longer, even when Federer and others hit it in excess of 200 km/h! The Double Core balls have an internal butyl rubber and clay nanocomposite coating called Air D-Fense that acts as a barrier to prevent air from escaping. The coating makes the ball bounce at least 2 times longer compared to a conventional ball and increases its playing time.
And nanotechnology is also in tennis clothing! The fish-scale pattern on the back of Nike’s Sphere Macro React tennis dress is more than just decoration. The pattern acts to release heat and moisture as a player perspires, regulated by a shape memory polymer that is incorporated into the fabric. Maria Sharapova wore a Macro React tennis dress for the 2006 US Open and Roger Federer wore a Macro React shirt at Wimbledon!

Planet82, a Korean company, has created an SMPD image sensor which can operate using a very small amount of light. This sensor will enable photos to be taken in near darkness eliminating the need to use a flash. According to Planet 82, nanotechnology is applied during sensor development enabling them to minimize sensor size and also increase unit pixels integrated in a limited area, which produces higher density as well as lower power consumption.

I am sure for even the amateur photographer, like myself, not having to rely on a flash would be beneficial. There are always times when you try to take a photo and the camera is unable to do so as it is too dark, even when using a flash.

Typically, progress in computational speeds is made by shrinking the logic-performing transistors used by computer chips. It is believed that chipmakers won’t be able to do this for much longer (only until around 2021 according to Intel). Without resigning themselves to one potential solution – simply building bigger chips – researchers at Hewlett-Packard have developed a way improving the chip circuitry by reworking the wiring with nanowires. HP hopes to make a prototype chip within a year. The new technology could extend the life of current chipmaking technologies and at the same time allow for manufacture of new chips that could outperform existing technology by a factor of three.

Larry Jordan, of our office, circulated an email that contained Time Best Inventions for 2006.  One invention that caught my eye was the quick drying umbrella.  The NanoNuno umbrella created by Pro-Idee dries and cleans after a good shake.  For those of us familiar with cramped public transport and slippery office floors this sounds like a great idea.  Nothing worse than dripping umbrellas on the train or slipping on a wet office floor!  

The canopy’s nanotech polyester surface is designed to repel water droplets and nature, via the lotus leaf, has again provided the inspiration.

From next Monday 15th January, the Australian Network for Art & Technology are running a lab called reSkin to develop prototypes of wearable technology. Examples of the technology include the ‘Kukkia’ dress designed by Joanna Berzowska (pictured). The dress uses Nitinol embedded in fabric flowers as a way of enabling the flowers to open and close. The reSkin lab is followed by the WearNow Symposium on Saturday 3rd February in Canberra. I am looking forward to attending the symposium and seeing how technology and creativity combine, and what role there is for nanotechnology.

A 6th grader smears her father’s new silk tie with ketchup, mustard and coffee, and documents the outcome using a video camera. A straightforward case of youthful mischief? Not exactly; it is a great example of a “hands-on” learning exercise in nanotechnology by Bethany Maynard and her younger brother, Alex, resulting in a short 8 minute video. Featuring interviews with Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor at the Wilson Center’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and Barbara Karn an expert on “green” nanotechnology, who works at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The 20mb QuickTime video is available online here. Oh, and the tie survives unstained, courtesy of a Nano-Tex coating.