Researchers in California today report development of the world’s first working radio system that receives radio waves wirelessly and converts them to sound signals through a nano-sized detector made of carbon nanotubes.
The “carbon nanotube radio” device is thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. The development marks an important step in the evolution of nano-electronics and could lead to the production of the world’s smallest radio, the scientists say. Their findings appeared online today and are scheduled for publication in the Nov. 14 print edition of ACS’ Nano Letters.
Peter Burke and Chris Rutherglen developed a carbon nanotube “demodulator” that is capable of translating AM radio waves into sound. In a laboratory demonstration, the researchers incorporated the detector into a complete radio system and used it to successfully transmit classical music wirelessly from an iPod to a speaker several feet away from the music player.
Although other researchers have developed nano-sized radio wave detectors in the past, the current study marks the first time that a nano-sized detector has been demonstrated in an actual working radio system, the scientists say.
The study demonstrates the feasibility of making other radio components at the nanoscale in the future and may eventually lead to a “truly integrated nanoscale wireless communications system,” they say. Such a device could have numerous industrial, commercial, medical and other applications.
Source: American Chemical Society
Related stories:
Goodbye to batteries and power sockets
A broken cable or a soiled connector? If a machine in a factory goes on strike, it could be for any of a thousand reasons. Self-sufficient sensors that provide their own power supply will soon make these machines more robust.
Heart of the Crab Pulsar probed -- first direct look into the core of a neutron star
New information about the heart of one of the most famous objects in the sky -- the Crab Pulsar in the Crab Nebula -- has been revealed by an international team of scientists searching for gravitational waves. The team's achievement also is the first direct look into the interior of a neutron star.
LIDAR imaging detector could build 'super road maps' of planets and moons
Technology that could someday “MapQuest” Mars and other bodies in the solar system is under development at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Rochester Imaging Detector Laboratory (RIDL), in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory.
NASA MidSTAR-1 successful technologies may be revolutionary
Two new technologies launched onboard a U.S. Naval Academy satellite called MidSTAR-1 have proven successful in their tests in space. One technology is a sensor that can check for harmful chemicals and the other is a special "film" that can control heat.
LIGO Sheds Light on Cosmic Event
An analysis by the international LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) Scientific Collaboration has excluded one previously leading explanation for the origin of an intense gamma-ray burst that occurred last winter. Gamma-ray bursts are among the most violent and energetic events in the universe, and scientists have only recently begun to understand their origins.
The B-Factory Returns for its Last Hurrah
This week, the B-Factory will begin running practically non-stop for 10 months, aiming for the endurance of a marathoner and the peak performance of a sprinter. Early this week, the PEP-II accelerator crew plans to begin circulating beams in the PEP rings after a three-month downtime, readying for collisions in the BaBar detector later this week.
ANITA is Back in Business
The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Array (ANITA)—that plucky probe that visited SLAC last year before taking to the skies of Antarctica—is back in action.
Laser-based device offers alternative to video surveillance
Surveillance systems take on a new look with a technology developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.