news from the lab 2010

Do ants hold the key to the fuel of the future? Formic acid provides more efficient and safer storage of hydrogen.

A team of physicists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has measured a giant optical phenomenon in graphene. This material, the discovery of which was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics, consists of a single layer of carbon atoms. Its exceptional properties are at the heart of global research in disciplines as diverse as engineering, biology and chemistry, with great potential for future applications.

Researchers discover why implant coatings detach - and a method to prevent it. Extra-hard coatings made from diamond-like carbon (DLC) extend the operating lifetime of tools and components.

The proton - one of the smallest building blocks of all matter - is even smaller than previously assumed. As a consequence of this discovery, a correction will have to be made to either the quantum theory of how light and matter interact or to the value of the Rydberg Constant - i.e. an important change is needed to either the most precise theory in physics or the most precisely determined physical constant.