Tiny particles have big potential, speaker says

This sequence of images demonstrates how nanoparticles linked to antibodies induced cell death in cancerous cells when researchers applied a light source. From the top row: cancer cells after no light, damaged cells 30 minutes after light and cell death 90 minutes after light. Image credit: Nanobio Interface Group at the Center for Nanoscale Materials (E. Rozhkova and I. Ulasov)

The small science of nanotechnology could make big changes in energy and medicine yet it is nanotechnology's potential in something even smaller - particle physics - that appeals to one Fermilab scientist.

Although nanotechnology has no direct application to particle physics, Technical Division's Emanuela Barzi said she wouldn't be surprised if Fermilab eventually used nanotechnology. She recently hosted a colloquium talk by Tijana Rajh, a scientist at the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory.

"Because nanotechnology is such a young field and it's making such fast progress, my take on it is that it's very possible that we would be able to find applications in what we do at the laboratory," Barzi said.

Rajh, who spoke on Oct. 14 in a general talk about advances in nanoscience, said scientists are entering a period of rapid advancement in nanotechnology.

"We are at the beginning of the threshold into big discoveries," Rajh said.

Nanotechnology studies the behavior and applications of particles between 1 and 100 nanometers, a scale where ordinary materials exhibit novel properties and experience changes in optical, electrical and magnetic behavior.

Because of nanoparticles' size and ability to couple with biomolecules, scientists hope that the particles could target specific cells and find possible medical applications. By binding nanoscale titanium dioxide to a natural protein that recognizes unhealthy cells, scientists could target only these cells for therapy.

Scientists have found that by layering lattices into multijunction solar cells, they can triple the efficiency of conventional solar technology, but at a cost of $75,000 per square meter. Rajh said that by using nanotechnology, scientists could heat up nanoparticle assemblies that will bring them closer to nanoparticle superlattices, which could be more efficient and cost-effective than conventional manufacturing.

After the talk, Barzi was enthusiastic about nanotechnology's potential. She said she's discussed with Rajh about organizing a small working group at Argonne to look into the technology's applications in superconductor material.

— Chris Knight

Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Company performs Nov. 7

Merging dance, theater and inflatable blobs of parachute silk, the Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Co., which performs Nov. 7 at Fermilab, is a performance that is fun for all ages.

The show's two performers roll, glide and bobble on stage as their inflatable contraptions morph into cubes, spheres, cylinders and other shapes, all set to music. The show is fast-paced, energetic and filled with comedy, and was a hit on Broadway where the New York Times called it "helium light and hilarious."

Fred Garbo performed on "Sesame Street" as Barkley the Dog and was chief juggler in "Barnum on Broadway" before beginning the theater company. Daielma Santos trained as a ballerina.

Fermilab's Jerry Zimmerman will perform as Mr. Freeze at a special pre-concert science demonstration beginning at 6 p.m.

The Fermilab Arts Series performance will take place at 7 p.m. in Ramsey Auditorium. Tickets are $26 for adults and $13 for ages 18 and under.

For more information, click here.

IUPAP visits Fermilab

In October, Fermilab's Patricia McBride hosted elected officials of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics attending a meeting in Chicago. At present IUPAP has 20 commissions. McBride is IUPAP vice president and IUPAP commission chair for the Commission on Particles and Fields (C11). On Oct. 22, the day before the start of the meeting, 11 IUPAP council and commission representatives came to Fermilab for an all-day tour, which included a look at the New Muon Lab test facility for SRF cavities. Front row (from left): Sergei Nagaitsev (SRF project manager), Patricia McBride (chair C11), Burkhard Fricke (chair C15), Klaus von Klitzing (chair C8), Pratibha Jolly (chair C14), Suresh C Tonwar (chair C4), Alexander Kaminskii (vice president), Sukekatsu Ushioda (president); middle row (from left): Mustansir Barma (vice president), Ari Friberg (past chair AC1), Alan Astbury (past president), Samir Gerges (chair AC3/ICA); back row (from left): Rudzani Nemutudi (associate secretary general), Kurt Riesselmann (Fermilab Office of Communication) and Jerry Leibfritz (SRF project engineer).

Dark-matter test faces obstacles

From Nature, Nov. 3, 2009

A group of scientists is hoping to replicate a controversial Italian experiment that claims to have detected dark matter. But they might have to do so without the help, or the equipment, of the original group.

Dark matter is thought to make up around 85% of the matter in the Universe, but it rarely interacts with regular matter except through the force of gravity. Researchers working on the DAMA experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory near L'Aquila, Italy, claim they have spotted direct signs of it.

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