Let’s face it: size matters.
As a fairly oversized human, I live a very different life from my smaller friends. I hit my head on lots of things. I get picked first when we play basketball. I often get asked, “how’s the weather up there?” I never have trouble grabbing things off the top shelf. When it comes to fitting into tight places, I often turn to one of my more fun-sized friends for assistance.
Size changes everything. That’s why nanoscale materials are all the rage in science nowadays. Materials with dimensions on the nanoscale have uniquely high surface-to-body ratios, giving them all kinds of unique and wacky properties. Even more interestingly, such materials can interact with light in interesting ways, since the wavelength of visible and UV light also lies in the nanoscale. Much of modern materials science involves some sort of nanoscale work, where the mysterious behaviors of very tiny materials are unraveled bit by bit.
Just for fun, I thought we’d explore exactly how small these nanomaterials are. Let’s take a trip down unit lane!
Table of Contents
How Small are Nanomaterials, Really?
Let’s start on the meter scale and work our way down. The average person’s height lies on the order of 1-2 meters. You may be on the higher or lower end of that spectrum, but, hopefully, your height still lies somewhere in the meter range (otherwise you should probably consult a doctor).
Let's Jump Down 100 Steps...
You’ve probably heard of centimeters and millimeters as well. Centimeters represent one hundredth of a meter, and can be used to effectively measure the height of most fruits. Your average banana is about eighteen centimeters. Banana for scale.
Millimeters are 1/10th the size of a centimeter – that means there’s one thousand millimeters in one meter. A single banana averages about 180 millimeters! Millimeters are useful for measuring most garden variety bugs and creepy crawlies. Incidentally, the smallest millipedes clock in around 2 mm.
The Micro Scale
Far below the length of your garden variety millipede lies the micrometer, or micron. This unit of measurement is 1000x smaller than the millimeter, or 10-6 meters. A single strand of the luscious locks on top of your head is a few hundred micrometers thick. A single human skin cell can run on the order of about 30 microns.
The Nanoscale
Jump down another three orders of magnitude, and we’ve finally made it to the nanoscale. One nanometer corresponds to one billionth of a meter, or 10-9 meters. On this length scale, mechanical, thermal, chemical, and electrical energies overlap, leading to interesting trans-energetic effects [1].
Additionally, the surface area-to-volume ratio of a particle becomes quite significant in the nanoscale. This ratio matters, as chemical reactivity differs at surfaces and edges. These properties combine to produce some really interesting nanoparticle effects, which are just now being studied and put to good use in the 21st century.
For example, consider that nanomaterials exist on the same scale as the wavelength of visible light (typically 400-800 nm). The interaction of an oscillating electromagnetic wave (a photon) with a conductive nanoparticle on the same length scale can lead to a corresponding oscillation in the nanoparticle’s electrons.
This phenomenon is known as surface plasmon resonance, and has been investigated for many applications, including catalysis and biological sensors [2].
The catalysis application is particularly promising. Chemical plants often catalyze, or speed up, chemical reactions at large scale using rare earth transition metals, like scandium or yttrium. Increasing demand for these metals has caused a strain in supply, and there is widespread fear that the world may soon face a shortage of transition metal catalysts.
A nanoparticle made of aluminum, a much more abundant material, may catalyze the same reactions as a rare earth catalyst. When a nanoparticle is plasmonically excited by light, it may “relax” by emitting a high-energy electron, which can initiate chemical reactions that may not be favorable in other conditions. Such a robust and widely available catalyst would solve the impending crisis of rare earth metal shortages. In fact, the high surface area of such nanoparticles may even make them a better catalyst than rare earth metals ever were.
(For more on plasmonic catalysis with aluminum nanoparticles, check out reference [2] and the Nanophotonics Laboratory at Rice University!)
The properties of a nanoparticle may vary significantly with its size. For example, certain types of nanoparticles known as quantum dots possess tunable visible properties, fluorescing or “glowing” different colors depending on the size of the nanoparticles.
Electrical properties may also be tuned by size. For instance, the Fuchs-Sondheimer effect describes the drastic increase in resistivity as the size of a nanoparticle approaches the size of the space, or “box,” in which its electrons naturally exist. This “electron in a box” effect causes a massive decrease in conductivity in many materials when they approach sizes under ~50 nm.
The unique and tunable properties offered by nanoparticles’ small size, as well as their high surface area to volume ratio, makes them a nearly ubiquitous topic of research in modern chemical laboratories.
Electron Optics
Nanoparticles are quite interesting, but they are very difficult to study. Because nanoparticles possess dimensions on the order of visible light, they are quite difficult to image via orthodox optical techniques.
To see into the nano-world, scientists have to get a bit creative. In the early 1900’s, Max Planck used the principle of wave-particle duality to describe the theoretical “wavelength” of an electron in motion. Scientists use this duality in instruments known as electron microscopes.
Such instruments use electrons as a substitute for photons, taking advantage of the relatively lower wavelength of an accelerated electron. These instruments can be used to achieve image resolution up to 0.1 nm, in some cases enabling the imaging of individual molecules and atoms.
That’s all I have for you today! Hope you enjoyed this fun foray into nanoscience. Most materials science projects in the modern era involve some sort of nanoscale material, so this science remains highly relevant.
Sorry I took such a long hiatus – my summer got quite busy, and I wanted to take the time to enjoy the friends I found in Livermore. I had a great summer seeing all of California’s beauty and meeting lots of nerds. It was practically paradise! Well, if you don’t count all those late nights writing papers…
As always, don’t hesitate to ask any questions or request clarifications. See you all again next time!
References
- Philips, R., and Quake, S. R. “The Biological Frontier of Physics.” 2006, Physics Today. 59, 38-43
- Brongersma, M. L., Halas, N. J., and Nordlander, P. “Plasmon Induced Hot Carrier Science & Technology.” 2015, Nature Nanotechnology. 10, 25-34.
My programmer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP.
I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.
But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on a
variety of websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform.
I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net.
Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts
into it? Any help would be really appreciated!
Do you have a spam problem on this site; I also am a blogger, and I was curious about your situation; we have developed some nice
methods and we are looking to trade techniques with
others, why not shoot me an email if interested.
Stunning quest there. What occurred after? Thanks!
You made some good ρoints there. I looked on the web for additional infoгmation about the issue and found
most people will go along witһ your views on this website.
My page – Situs qq
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it.
Look advanced to more added agreeable from you!
However, how can we communicate?
Wonderful work! That is the kind of information that should be shared across the net.
Shame on Google for now not positioning this submit higher!
Come on over and consult with my site . Thank you =)
wonderful publish, very informative. I’m wondering why the other experts of this sector don’t realize this.
You should continue your writing. I am sure, you’ve a
huge readers’ base already!
You’re so interesting! I do not believe I’ve truly read a single thing like this before.
So good to discover another person with original thoughts on this issue.
Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This web site is something that is needed on the web, someone with some originality!
https://waterfallmagazine.com
Superb website you have here but I was curious about if you knew of any forums that cover the same topics discussed here?
I’d really love to be a part of group where I can get feed-back from other experienced
people that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please
let me know. Cheers!
Howdy! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 3gs!
Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward
to all your posts! Keep up the excellent work!
Awesome issues here. I’m very satisfied to see your article.
Thanks a lot and I’m taking a look forward to touch you.
Will you kindly drop me a e-mail?
This is a very good tip particularly to those fresh to the
blogosphere. Brief but very precise information… Appreciate your sharing this one.
A must read post!
‘I try not to do anything to irritate him,’ says Ceawlin in the
documentary, the 45-year-old Saffy to his father’s Edina.
You have to try to make peace with it before you start the process.
Make sure it does or go elsewhere. Well, not anymore.
Thanks to Go Nude Cams, even trap house bitches can make a living by selling their pussies.
How professional. You’ll also receive messages instantly, which
is definitely a confidence boost even though you know they’re probably just looking
for one thing. The first thing he says is, ‘I want to
get you pregnant. That way, you know where you stand from the
get go. Had it been left untreated, I don’t know what would
have happened,’ she says. ‘I don’t think we will do it again,
but you never know,’ she says, wiping away her tears.
“Non-fraternisation policies” and “love contracts” are
common, typically requiring both parties to declare the relationship, agree
that it will not interfere with their work, and potentially move departments in the event of any conflict of interest.
‘When you are up there, the dogs are always running
around.
Greate pieces. Keep writing such kind of information on your site.
Im really impressed by your blog.
Hi there, You have performed an excellent job. I’ll definitely digg it and in my view recommend to
my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this website.
Thanks in support of sharing such a pleasant opinion, piece of
writing is fastidious, thats why i have read it entirely
Hey there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers
and starting a new project in a community in the same niche.
Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a outstanding
job!
Howdy, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam comments?
If so how do you reduce it, any plugin or anything you can advise?
I get so much lately it’s driving me insane so any support is very much appreciated.
novinhas em thexywar.com
I’m really loving the theme/design of your website.
Do you ever run into any browser compatibility problems?
A handful of my blog audience have complained about my site not operating correctly in Explorer but looks
great in Opera. Do you have any solutions to help fix this issue?
You should be a part of a contest for one of the most useful
sites online. I am going to recommend this website!
I already have my video beautiful woman, it fascinates
me to see your pantyhose feet dripping from cum , excellent performance with pantyhose and heelsgreetings from Mexico!
Thanks , I’ve just been looking for info approximately this subject for a while and yours is
the best I have discovered till now. But, what in regards to the bottom line?
Are you sure about the supply?
Wonderful blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how
to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for
a while but I never seem to get there! Thank you
I don’t even know hοw Ι ended up hеre, but I thought this poѕt was great.
I don’t know who you are but certainly you’re going to a famouus blogger
if you are not already 😉 Cheers!
My weƅpage;coinmaster free spins
I just could not depart your web site prior to suggesting that I actually loved the usual info an individual
provide on your visitors? Is going to be again frequently in order to check up on new posts
Hi there to every one, it’s genuinely a fastidious for me to pay a quick visit this
web site, it includes useful Information.
of course like your web site however you have to test the
spelling on quite a few of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling problems and
I to find it very bothersome to inform the truth then again I will surely come again again.
Thaks a lot for sharing this with all folks yyou really understand what you
are talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly additionally taslk over
with my site =). We can have a hyperlink change agreement between us
My site best ice scraper
Hi there everyone, it’s my first visit at this web
page, and piece of writing is actually fruitful in support of me, keep up posting these content.
Great delivery. Sound arguments. Keep up the amazing spirit.
Howdy! This post couldn’t be written much better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
He continually kept talking about this. I’ll forward this post to him.
Fairly certain he’s going to have a great read.
Many thanks for sharing!
Косметология
Быстрый темп жизни, неправильное
питание, загрязненная окружающая среда, стабильный стресс,
вредные привычки – все эти перечисленные факторы неблагоприятно сказываются
на внешнем виде каждого
человека. Убрать эстетические дефекты,
тем самым улучшив внешний картина
кожи, можно в косметологии в Уфе.
При обращении к косметологу важно,
чтобы у него было соответствующее медицинское образование.
Только в таком случае он сможет не только
ликвидировать внешние
дефекты, однако также улучить внутреннюю причину, по которой возникла проблема.
Процедура омоложения кожи и улучшения ее внешнего
состояния — одна из самых популярных услуг, за которой обращаются в косметологии, отзывы о каких
можно разобрать в интернете.
Процесс омоложения осуществляется с использованием различных методик, которые подбираются в зависимости
от индивидуальных показателей пациента.
Достаточно распространен
в косметологии — массаж лица.
Его проводят с целью улучшения кровообращения, профилактики и лечения любых кожных патологий.
Задать вопрос
Быстрый темп жизни, неправильное питание, загрязненная окружающая среда, беспрестанный
стресс, вредные привычки – все эти
перечисленные факторы неблагоприятно сказываются на внешнем виде каждого человека.
Убрать эстетические дефекты, тем самым улучшив внешний зрелище кожи, можно в
косметологии в Уфе.
При обращении к косметологу важно, дабы у него было соответствующее медицинское образование.
Только в таком случае он сможет не токмо устранить внешние дефекты, да также найти внутреннюю причину, по которой возникла проблема.
Процедура омоложения кожи
и улучшения ее внешнего состояния — одна из самых популярных услуг, за которой
обращаются в косметологии,
отзывы о каких можно проглотить
в интернете. Процесс омоложения осуществляется
с использованием различных методик, которые подбираются в зависимости от индивидуальных показателей пациента.
Достаточно распространен в косметологии — массаж лица.
Его проводят с целью улучшения кровообращения, профилактики и лечения любых кожных патологий.
Hello colleagues, pleasant paragraph and nice arguments commented here, I
am genuinely enjoying by these.
We’re a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community.
Your web site offered us with valuable info to work on. You have done an impressive job and our whole community will be thankful to
you.
Keep on working, great job!
What’s up mates, its great piece of writing on the topic of educationand fully
defined, keep it up all the time.
If some one desires to be updated with latest technologies then he must be
pay a visit this website and be up to date all the time.
There is definately a great deal to know about this subject.
I like all the points you have made.
Also, they guy who did this to me wrote a blog how he was
jack the ripper and I was porn star (sexual abuse through weapons).
He specifically wrote how I would hallucinate.
I laughed at his blog thought he was nuts.
Now he has the last laugh.
I think this is among the most vital information for me.
And i’m glad reading your article. But want to remark on some general things,
The site style is wonderful, the articles is really nice :
D. Good job, cheers
Do some research over the internet and find out the best satellite TV package.
The largest claims to have over 30 million members and there are several sites of this nature.
Why are men running away from the women most desired by hordes of
men? Why do men feel the need to put on this air of sophistication in public?
You see a little child with a medal getting put on his chest stick his chest
out to display his medal and he is really happy and really proud
in his award. A little addition of safety to the mix can be worthwhile for teens to develop some social skills to handle this novel social invention. It can even locate secret social networks, dating sites, swinger sites, cam sites and even porn and escort service sites.
Ring has a lot of the same features, but many of them require a subscription to Ring Protect, Ring’s
cloud storage service.
Outstanding story there. What happened after?
Good luck!
Heya! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 4!
Just wanted to say I love reading through your
blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the
fantastic work!
I read this post completely concerning the resemblance of hottest
and earlier technologies, it’s awesome article.
Unquestionably believe that that you said. Your favourite reason appeared
to be on the internet the simplest factor to take into accout
of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while folks consider worries that they just do not know about.
You controlled to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the entire thing with no need side effect
, other people could take a signal. Will likely be again to get
more. Thanks
Thank you, I have recently been looking for information about this
topic for ages and yours is the best I have found out till now.
However, what in regards to the bottom line?
Are you certain about the supply?
Someone essentially lend a hand to make critically posts I would state.
This is the very first time I frequented your web page and so far?
I amazed with the research you made to create this actual submit incredible.
Great task!
Excellent article. Keep posting such kind
of info on your blog. Im really impressed by your blog.
Hey there, You’ve performed a fantastic job. I will definitely digg it and in my
opinion recommend to my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited from this website.
Hi there to every body, it’s my first pay a visit of this web site; this webpage
carries awesome and truly excellent material designed for
readers.
Hi there, I want to subscribe for this blog to get most
up-to-date updates, thus where can i do it please help out.
Appreciating the time and effort you put
into your site and in depth information you offer. It’s awesome
to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated
rehashed information. Excellent read! I’ve saved your site and I’m including your RSS
feeds to my Google account.
I am regular visitor, how are you everybody? This piece of writing posted at this web
page is genuinely pleasant.
Hello, I enjoy reading all of your article. I like to write a
little comment to support you.
For instance, you’ll not are afflicted by
low blood pressure plus your heart rate will try to
be normal. When you search for a spa, the decisions
how you will spend your time and energy are often left to you personally however you will be a good idea to pick one with their packages that incorporate numerous services
from facials to mineral baths. If a patient desires to have the
ability to do mundane tasks for example walk, stand up from
the chair, rise and fall the stairs, and run, physiotherapy is something that
has got to stop ignored.
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but
I find this topic to be actually something that I think I would never understand.
It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next
post, I will try to get the hang of it!
Hi Dear, are you actually visiting this website on a regular basis,
if so afterward you will without doubt take fastidious experience.
Because the admin of this site is working, no question very quickly it will be renowned, due to its quality contents.
I am in fact pleased to read this webpage posts which carries plenty of valuable information, thanks for providing such data.
Hi to all, for the reason that I am in fact eager of reading this weblog’s post to be updated daily.
It includes fastidious material.
Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this website.
It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s challenging to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and
visual appearance. I must say you have done a very
good job with this. In addition, the blog loads super fast
for me on Firefox. Exceptional Blog!
It’s amazing in favor of me to have a web site, which is useful designed for my know-how.
thanks admin
It’s not my first time to go to see this web
site, i am visiting this web site dailly and obtain fastidious
information from here all the time.
The standard rate per session of a hot stone massage costs between $65
to $200 (USD). One from the more therapeutic features incorporated into
the HT 140 massaging recliner is its stretching.
Cortisol levels have also been observed to go down significantly after continuous regular massage.
You are so awesome! I do not believe I’ve read anything like that before.
So wonderful to find somebody with a few genuine thoughts on this subject matter.
Really.. many thanks for starting this up. This website is
one thing that is required on the internet, someone with a little originality!
Ι quite like reading a post that can make peoрlｅ think.
Also, thanks for allowing for me to comment!
Here is my homepage Dominoqq
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I
find this matter to be actually something that I think I would never understand.
It seems too complex and very broad for me.
I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the
hang of it!
It’s great that you are getting ideas from this article as well as from our argument made at
this place.
Hi, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was
just curious if you get a lot of spam comments?
If so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything
you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any help is very much appreciated.
Stop by my webpage; taruhan bandarq
We’re a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community.
Your web site offered us with valuable info to work on. You have done a formidable job and our entire community will
be grateful to you.
Hi, I do think this is an excellent blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I may revisit yet again since I book-marked it.
Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to help other people.
Hi, I do think this is a great web site. I stumbledupon it
😉 I am going to return yet again since i have book marked it.
Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide
others.
hello there and thank you for your info – I have definitely picked up something new from right here.
I did however expertise a few technical points using
this website, since I experienced to reload the web site many times previous to I could get it to
load properly. I had been wondering if your web host is OK?
Not that I’m complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will
very frequently affect your placement in google
and could damage your high-quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords.
Well I am adding this RSS to my email and could look
out for a lot more of your respective interesting content.
Make sure you update this again soon.
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I’ve
really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Simply wish to say your article is as amazing. The clarity on your put up is just
excellent and i could assume you are an expert in this subject.
Fine with your permission let me to clutch your feed to stay updated with
drawing close post. Thanks one million and please carry on the enjoyable
work.
fantastic submit, very informative. I’m wondering why the other specialists of this sector do not notice this.
You should continue your writing. I’m sure, you’ve a huge readers’ base already!
Ꭲhx 🙂
Here is my weƅ site :: cheap ssd hosting
It’s very straightforward to find out anyy topic on neet as
compared to textbooks, as I found this piece off writing aat this web page.
Heree is my homepage: homepage
After I initially commented I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I receive four emails
with the exact same comment. Is there a way you are able to remove me from that service?
Thank you!
This is a topic that is near to my heart…
Best wishes! Where are your contact details though?
maunhadep https://www.facebook.com/1000maunhaxinh
Very nice article, exactly what I needed.
I’d like to thank you for the efforts you have put in penning this site.
I really hope to check out the same high-grade content by you
in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has motivated
me to get my own blog now 😉
Awesome! Its genuinely remarkable paragraph, I have got much clear idea regarding from this piece
of writing.
Hey there would you mind letting me know which hosting company you’re using?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different web browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most.
Can you recommend a good internet hosting provider
at a honest price? Thank you, I appreciate it!
I am really inspired with your writing abilities as well
as with the format to your blog. Is that this a paid subject
matter or did you modify it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent high quality writing, it’s rare
to see a great weblog like this one these days..
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it.
Look advanced to far added agreeable from you! By the way, how can we communicate?
my blog post bandar togel Online
I thinnk what you published made a lot of sense.
But, consider this, suppose you were to create a killer title?
I ain’t suiggesting your information is not good, but suppose you
added a headline that makes people desiree more?
I mean Fun Sizze Science – Distilling Science is kinda vanilla.
You should look at Yahoo’s front page and see how they
write post titles to grab viewers interested. You migbht add a related video or a pic
or two too grab people excited about everything’ve got to say.
Just my opinion, it cohld make your blog a little livelier.
Hype project hype sites profinvest
A fascinating discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that
that you ought to publish more about this topic, it might not be a taboo
matter but usually folks don’t speak about such topics.
To the next! Kind regards!!
Wonderful blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo
News. Have you got any tips regarding how to get indexed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while however i never
seem to get there! Thanks
My homepage: KitFLehoux
First of all I want to say wonderful blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you do not mind.
I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your mind before
writing. I have had difficulty clearing my mind in getting
my ideas out there. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the
first 10 to 15 minutes are generally lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or tips?
Thanks!
Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your web site and in accession capital to assert that I acquire in fact enjoyed
account your blog posts. Anyway I will be subscribing to your
feeds and even I achievement you access consistently fast.
my web-site casino online
Hi all, here every person is sharing these knowledge, therefore it’s good to read this website,
and I used to pay a quick visit this webpage daily.
I’d like to find out more? I’d love to find out
more details.
Incredible points. Outstanding arguments. Keep up the
amazing effort.
Why viewers still use to read news papers when in this technological world the
whole thing is presented on net?
Great article! That is the type of information that are supposed to be shared across the web.
Disgrace on the search engines for not positioning this submit upper!
Come on over and visit my website . Thank you =)
Also visit my website :: blog3003
Unquestionably consider that that you stated. Your
favourite justification seemed to be at the internet the simplest thing to bear in mind of.
I say to you, I certainly get annoyed whilst other folks think about worries that they just don’t recognise about.
You controlled to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing with no need side-effects , other
people can take a signal. Will probably be again to get more.
Thanks
I absolutely love your website.. Great colors & theme.
Did you build this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m attempting to create my very own website and would like to
learn where you got this from or what the theme is named.
Thanks!