 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Apr 15, 2011 A step change in research relating to plasma nanoscience is needed for the world to overcome the challenge of sufficient energy creation and storage, says a leading scientist from CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering and the University of Sydney, Australia. Professor Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov of the Plasma Nanoscience Centre Australia, CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering, has highlighted, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, the unique potential of plasma nanoscience to control energy and matter at fundamental levels to produce cost-effective, environmentally and human health friendly nanoscale materials for applications in virtually any area of human activity. Professor Ostrikov is a pioneer in the field of plasma nanoscience, and was awarded the Australian Future Fellowship (2011) of the Australian Research Council, Walter Boas Medal of the Australian Institute of Physics (2010), Pawsey Medal of the Australian Academy of Sciences (2008), and CEO Science Leader Fellowship and Award of CSIRO (2008) on top of gaining seven other prestigious fellowships and eight honorary and visiting professorships in six different countries. He said: "We can find the best, most suitable plasmas and processes for virtually any application-specific nanomaterials using plasma nanoscience knowledge. "The terms 'best' and 'most-suitable' have many dimensions including quality, yield, cost, environment and human friendliness, and most recently, energy efficiency." Plasma nanoscience involves the use of plasma - an ionised gas at temperatures from just a few to tens of thousands Kelvin - as a tool to create and process very small (nano) materials for use in energy conversion, electronics, IT, health care, and numerous other applications that are critical for a sustainable future. In particular, Ostrikov points out the ability of plasma to synthesise carbon nanotubes - one of the most exciting materials in modern physics, with extraordinary properties arising from their size, dimension, and structure, capable of revolutionising the way energy is produced, transferred and stored. Until recently, the unpredictable nature of plasma caused some scientists to question its ability to control energy and matter in order to construct nanomaterials, however Ostrikov draws on existing research to provide evidence that it can be controlled down to fundamental levels leading to cost-effective and environmentally friendly processes. Compared to existing methods of nanomaterials production, Ostrikov states that plasma can offer a simple, cheaper, faster, and more energy efficient way of moving "from controlled complexity to practical simplicity" and has encouraged researchers to grasp the opportunities that present themselves in this field. This paper is part of the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics special issue entitled "Perspectives in plasma nanoscience".
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Institute of Physics Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Toward A Green Grid For Delivering Solar And Wind-Based ElectricityWashington DC (SPX) Apr 14, 2011 After years of neglect, scientists and policy makers are focusing more attention on developing technologies needed to make the so-called "green grid" possible, according to an article in ACS' Chemical Reviews. That's the much-needed future electrical grid, an interconnected network for delivering solar and wind-based electricity from suppliers to consumers. Zhenguo (Gary) Yang and co ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
