Rockin’ out IBM researchers have made a new breakthrough in the study of nanoparticles. Becaus

Rockin’ out

IBM researchers have made a new breakthrough in the study of nanoparticles. Because of nanoparticles’ naturally erratic movement and small size (about 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair), they’re notoriously difficult to separate and control – and study. IBM researchers created a motor device for sorting, separating and moving nanoparticles without the need for water, which could eventually lead to lab-on-a-chip applications. Using a “rocking” motion and oscillating electrical field across the nano-landscape, the device can more precisely separate nanoparticle populations; a model suggests that it can separate nanoparticles ranging from 5 nanometers (nm) to 100 nm. This technology has major implications in the fields of material science, environmental science and biochemistry, such as potentially helping eradicate drinking water pollutants.

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