Special Reports

Nanotechnology

Nanotriumph

  • 13 March 1999
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The world's smallest set of scales could weigh viruses, say researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. By attaching tiny objects to the end of carbon nanotubes, they have measured the mass of objects that weigh just a thousandth of a picogram (Science, vol 283, p 1513). In the macro world, a calibrated spring can measure the mass of an object if you know the properties of the spring. A similar principle applies in the nano world: a transmission electron microscope can measure resonant oscillations in the nanotube when a small voltage is applied to it.

 
From issue 2177 of New Scientist magazine, 13 March 1999, page 15
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