2008 DEC 15 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to recent research from Singapore, Singapore, "A technique is described to observe transient events in thin interfacial films and monolayers. p-polarized light has minimum reflectivity at the Brewster angle. When an interface is viewed with light that is both incident and reflected at the Brewster angle the resulting image is dark."

  "However, small refractive index changes can increase the reflectivity producing a high-contrast image of an altered interface with a dark background level. Using this phenomenon, with imaging optics, photo-induced phase change in Langmuir films was monitored. Two synchronized 5-ns pulsed lasers were used in the pump-probe configuration to induce changes at an air-liquid interface and to monitor the resulting morphology changes at selected time delays after photo-excitation. The photo-responsive layers were made from photochromic spiropyrans, having long aliphatic chain substituents. When irradiated with UV light the closed form of the molecule converts to a more planar ring open merocyanine form," wrote J. Hobley and colleagues ...read more

  2008 DEC 15 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to a study from the United States, "Nanoscale ridge apertures provide a highly confined radiation spot with a high transmission efficiency when used in the near field approach."

  "The radiation confinement and enhancement is due to the electric-magnetic field concentrated in the gap between the ridges. This paper reports the experimental demonstration of radiation enhancement using such antenna apertures and lithography of nanometer size structures," wrote N. Murphydubay and colleagues, Purdue University ...read more

  2008 DEC 15 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to a study from the United States, "The nucleation and rapid growth of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were explored by pulsed-laser assisted chemical vapor deposition (PLA-CVD). A special high-power, Nd:YAG laser system with tunable pulse width (> 0.5 ms) was implemented to rapidly heat (> 3 x 10(4)degrees C/s) metal catalyst-covered substrates to different growth temperatures for very brief (sub-second) and controlled time periods as measured by in situ optical pyrometry. ...read more