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Carbon transistors on DNA strands

23.09.2013

Anatoly Sokolov, an employee of Stanford University, together with fellow physicists, developed a method for obtaining carbon transistors based on DNA strands.

During the experiment, bacterial DNA was deposited on a silicon substrate, where the nucleic acid was stretched into almost even straight strands. Then the substrate with DNA was transferred to a sealed chamber with methane and heated. Under the action of heat, some of the carbon atoms were released from the DNA (in fact, the DNA on the substrate was charred). Methane molecules were attached to such atoms, forming thin carbon strips on the substrate.

The goal of the scientists' work was to use DNA as a guide structure for growing thin (several atoms wide, up to 10 nanometers) graphene strips. As shown earlier, such strips, unlike sheet graphene, are semiconductors, and therefore can be used to create transistors. According to the authors, depending on the production conditions, they obtained either metallic or semiconductor carbon nanostrips. The carbon in them, however, was in different electronic states in different places and looked more like graphite than graphene. Nevertheless, the authors hope that in the future it will be possible to obtain pure graphene transistors using this method.

Physicists have learned to give graphene the properties of a semiconductor without the use of DNA. To do this, you can put a sheet of monatomic carbon on another flat monatomic material, such as boron nitride. In addition, graphene researchers have recently learned how to cut it into fragments of the desired shape using a laser and stack them in piles, where the material can form van der Waals heterostructures.

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Wind turbine without blades 17.12.2022

Spanish startup Vortex Bladeless has developed a wind turbine that generates energy using vibration.

Unlike analogues that use the energy of rotating blades to run a generator, the Vortex Bladeless windmill generates vibrations of the air hitting the structure.

A three-meter pole, and this is exactly what the generator looks like, swings, as it were, on two large magnets located at the base of the structure. If the wind "pushes" the turbine in a certain direction, one of the magnets pulls it back. So the generator converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

By increasing the frequency of movements, the device converts energy into electricity. Therefore, from the outside, the white pillar may even seem alive. The wind generator is easy to maintain. Its base is made of pultruded carbon fiber; there are no rotating mechanisms and bearings in the design. The wear life of the material is 25 years.

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Also, unlike similar models of turbines, Vortex Bladeless does not harm wildlife. And all because it is without blades. The 3 meter high structure is absolutely safe for birds and bats that fall into the rotating blades.

The project has already been approved by the Norwegian international energy company Equinor ASA. Innovative Vortex Bladeless turbines also made the list of the 10 most exciting startups in the energy sector. Of course, due to their small size, bladeless turbines cannot generate a large amount of energy - up to 200 kW so far, so now the developers are looking for an industrial partner who will build a turbine 140 meters high for them. It is expected that in this case the windmill will produce 1 MW of energy.

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