Nanoscience involves the study of chemical and physical changes that happen at the nanoscale. Researchers and scientists are interested in the nanoscale, because when many materials get down to ...
‘Nano’ means small, right? Sort of. To scientists, ‘nano’ doesn’t just mean small. It means almost unimaginably small. A nanometre (nm) is a billionth of a metre, so when scientists refer to ...
Nanotechnology is possible partly because tools have been developed to ‘see’ particles of matter a nanometre (nm) across, or smaller. That’s less than a billionth of a metre. When the idea of ...
A nanometre is a billionth of a metre. Nanoscale can refer to things less than 100 nanometres in size, or to materials so small that they behave differently to normal. What is a nanometre? Your ...
In a corner of a laboratory at Massey University’s Institute of Technology and Engineering, plants are growing under bright lights. They look out of place amongst all the high-tech equipment, yet ...
An inquiry approach is a method often used in science education. The question bank provides an initial list of questions about nanoscience and places where their answers can be found. The article ...
Prof Richard Haverkamp, of Massey University, explains electrocatalysts, and their potential for fuel cell technology. You can also see hydrogen gas being made by the electrolysis of water.
Dr Richard Tilley of Victoria University of Wellington explains what catalytic converters are and the role of catalysts. He also outlines why different shapes of nanoparticles are useful.
Nanoscience is a field of science that is often given a specific starting date – 1959. It was an idea that had to wait for new tools to make it possible. However, nanoscience as we know it today ...
Scientists at Victoria University of Wellington are making new shapes of nanoparticles. These will help reduce poisonous emissions from car exhausts by making catalytic converters in cars more ...
Researchers and scientists are interested in the nanoscale, because when many materials get down to these tiny sizes, they start to behave differently and novel properties emerge. Sometimes the ...
Simon Feasey and Iain Hosie, Revolution Fibres, explain the process of electrospinning nanofibres. Jargon alert Taylor cone: the characteristic droplet shape formed by fluid on the tip of the ...
This is a simple explanation of what nanotechnology is and what its future applications might be.
Nanoscale silicon quantum dots are being developed in New Zealand. They will be able to locate and show up cancerous cells in humans, and deliver drugs to them. What are quantum dots? Quantum ...
Nanofibres are an exciting class of nanoscale materials. Individually, nanofibres are so small they’re hard to imagine or to visualise, but when collected together, they form a tangible ...
In this activity, students investigate the pattern of magnetic fields on a fridge magnet. This will give them an idea of the principle behind scanning probe and magnetic force microscopes. By the ...
John Watt, a PhD student at Victoria University of Wellington, describes how increasing the surface area of nanoparticles increases their performance as catalysts.
In this activity, students collect and record data and use it to create 2D and 3D images of an unseen surface. They will then understand some of the processes involved in mapping the unknown. By ...
Prof Richard Haverkamp, of Massey University, describes hydrogen as an energy carrier, and how it could replace non-renewable carbon-based fuels.
Professor Richard Haverkamp and Dr Aaron Marshall are chemical engineers at Massey University, Palmerston North. They have created nanoparticles and catalysts that will help fuel the future. To ...
Prof Richard Haverkamp, of Massey University, outlines the role of electrocatalysts in the production of hydrogen from water by electrolysis.
In this activity, students realise that they are growing up in a world in which nanotechnology could have a huge impact and explore some of the potential social issues that could arise. By the ...
In this video, Revolution Fibres founders Iain Hosie and Simon Feasey describe how they found a gap in the market for the commercial production of nanofibres. They explain how they set up their ...
Position: Director of the Electron Microscope Unit, the Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, UNSW, Sydney. Field: Nanotechnology. When we first interviewed Dr Richard Tilley he was a senior ...
