news from the lab 2014

The manipulation of atoms has reached a new level: Physicists were able to place 20 single atoms on a fully insulated surface at room temperature to form the smallest "Swiss cross", thus taking a big step towards next generation atomic-scale storage devices. Ever since the 1990s, physicists have been able to directly control surface structures by moving and positioning single atoms to certain atomic sites.

Something went wrong when gluing something? No problem. Researchers have developed a polymer structure which is capable of reversibly gluing materials together using nothing but light.

CERN 's CLOUD experiment has shown that biogenic vapours emitted by trees and oxidised in the atmosphere have a significant impact on the formation of clouds, thus helping to cool the planet. These biogenic aerosols are what give forests seen from afar their characteristic blue haze. The CLOUD study shows that the oxidised biogenic vapours bind with sulphuric acid to form embryonic particles which can then grow to become the seeds on which cloud droplets can form.

In the framework of the EU-project Solarjet, scientists demonstrate for the first time the entire production path to liquid hydrocarbon fuels from water, CO2 and solar energy. The key technological component is a solar reactor developed at ETH Zurich. By playing this video, you agree to the use of cookies by YouTube This may include analytics, personalization, and ads.