Fractional derivatives have physical reality

Proof has finally been achieved for Boltzmann's 140-year-old gas equation which predicts the motion of gas molecules. Robert Strain and Philip Gressman at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that Boltzmann's equation will always produce the right answer for gases that are close to equilibrium, such as the air in a building close to room temperature. However, they still can't say whether the equation holds in more complex situations, such as a storm.
www.newscientist.com/article/dn18931-proof-at-last-for-boltzmanns-140yearold-gas-equation.html

Once bittern, twice shy?

The main news here in the UK today is clearly the national parliamentary election and the expected result remains a complete unknown following a lively 4 weeks of the campaign. With the prospect of no party winning an outright majority, some political mating is anticipated in the following days and weeks. Another rare and unique mating ritual has finally been caught on camera.  A BBC natural history film crew has captured what experts believe is the first footage of a male bittern "booming" in daylight in the UK. news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8663000/8663139.stm

Etch every mountain?

IBM scientists are undoubtedly clearly clever chaps but do they have a bit too much time on their hands? Last month they reported on a novel nano-milling technique based on STM/AFM technology to create patterns and structures on the nanometre scale. To demonstrate the technique's capability did they produce a low critical dimension, high speed CMOS based IC? No. They did, however, produce:

A 25-nanometre high 3D replica of the Matterhorn Alpine mountain that soars 4,478 m, created in molecular glass on a scale of 1:5 billion.
A complete 3D map of the world measuring  22 by 11 micrometres created on a polymer in only 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

Full details, including a video clip are available via: www.zurich.ibm.com/news/10/nanopatterning.html and www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/29983.wss

Streetcar was desired

On April 21, US car club Zipcar announced a purchase of its London based rival operation Streetcar. The acquisition leads Zipcar's aspiration to become the major European player in the car club market. Streetcar had built up to more than 1,100 locations across eight cities, including London, Brighton, Cambridge, Southampton, Guildford, Maidstone, Oxford and, most recently, Bristol.
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/76d83788-4d40-11df-baf3-00144feab49a.html

Thought for the month

"Our elections are free, it's in the results where eventually we pay".  Bill Stern, US Actor (1907 - 71)

Chemical thermodynamic (non) epitaxy

Using the word "revolutionary" in the context of semiconductor materials is both interesting and dangerous. According to University of Maryland researchers (www.newsdesk.umd.edu/scitech/release.cfm?ArticleID=2106 and published in the journal Science 26 March 2010:Vol. 327. no. 5973, pp. 1634 - 1638) a completely new way to produce high quality semiconductor materials, "critical" for advanced microelectronics and nanotechnology, has been devised. The team has created a process that uses chemical thermodynamics to produce, in solution, a broad range of different combination materials, each with a shell of structurally perfect mono-crystal semiconductor around a metal core. Early days, but an HBT in a test tube?

Diamond growth

The UK government and the Wellcome Trust have announced further funding to support Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron science facility, in the next phase of its development. Approximately £110 million has been committed for phase III of its development, 14 per cent from the Wellcome Trust and 86 per cent through the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). (www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/Media-office/Press-releases/2010/WTX059047.htm)

Z contrast sees small

Using Z -contrast (atomic number) scanning transmission electron microscopy (www.ornl.gov/info/press_releases/get_press_release.cfm?ReleaseNumber=mr20100325-00) researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have obtained the first images that distinguish individual light atoms such as boron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. An international team analysed boron nitride samples prepared by Oxford University researchers, using STEM energies (60KeV) low enough to avoid displacement damage in low atomic number elements. The microscope manufacturer (Nion Company, www.nion.com) has clearly picked up with cold field emission STEM where the former VG Microscopes left off.

Critical dimensions

With ever shrinking dimensions within ICs, the role of metrology in maintaining high yield is critical. Researchers are challenged to get accurate measurements of sub-40nm dense trenches and contact holes coming from 193-immersion lithography or e-beam lithography. CEA-Leti's (www.leti.fr) Hybrid Metrology Project has shown noteworthy results in reducing measurement uncertainty at sub-28nm nodes using an alternative 3D-AFM (atomic force microscope) mode for critical measurements (nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=9645). The team aims to help equipment makers develop a critical dimension metrology production tool dedicated to hybrid metrology that will reduce R&D cycle time and improve production yield for manufacturers.

Self-driving cars

My colleague John Grange was interested to follow a New Scientist tweet (bit.ly/bDay5A) to an article about Volvo's new technology initiative to move further down the road of self-driving cars. Whilst recognising the potential benefits of the new technologies following adaptive cruise control and semi-autonomous parking systems he wonders where this might all lead. I have a different perspective, partly reflecting my extensive utilization of public transport for the last 21 months, partly my new found enjoyment of cycling ... and also the fact that I never driven a Volvo!

Thought for the day

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." Douglas Adams, Author (1952 - 2001).