R & D articles from April 2008

R & D archives from April 2008

Creating a new energy policy.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
April 1, 2008... To succeed in the future, the U.S. government needs to establish a dynamic, aggressive, and bold energy policy. Everything in our environment is now tied to energy--industry, transportation, the economy, and even our food supply. Numerous...

Are biofuels the right choice? The development of biofuels is being questioned by researchers and environmentalists alike.(Cover story)
April 1, 2008... Fuels--their increasing use, diminishing supply in some areas, and their byproducts which are being attributed to global warming, have become the determining factors in the future of humans role on this planet. And petroleum, with its high...

Software helps researchers answer their questions faster: Elsevier's new Web-based research tool integrates natural language search with billions of search data points.(SOFTWARE)
April 1, 2008... Elsevier, a publisher of scientific, technical, and medical information products and services with U.S. headquarters in New York, N.Y., recently announced their launch of illumin8 (www.illumin8.com). This is their first Web-based research tool...

Realistic simulation makes a safe impact on train design: Abaqus finite element analysis software simulates collision on an anti-climb crash module.(SOFTWARE)
April 1, 2008... Swiss-based Group produces about 700 light and commuter rail vehicles per year. All of its products meet stringent requirements governing safety equipment, strength of train units (cars and engines), and, above all, passenger and crew...

CODE V 9.81 delivers enhancements for advanced fabrication techniques.(Tools of the Trade)
April 1, 2008... CODE V 9.81 optical design software streamlines the fabrication of optical systems by simplifying the correlation of actual test data and design parameters. Aspheric lens tolerancing capabilities can be used with the CODE V fast wavefront...

C/C++ interpreter Ch 6.0 and embedded Ch 6.0 released.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... SoftIntegration, Inc. announces the availability of Ch 6.0 and Embedded Ch 6.0. Ch is an embeddable C/C++ interpreter for cross-platform scripting, 2-D/3-D plotting, numerical computing, shell programming, and embedded scripting. The new...

Extended laboratory software.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... ABB has unveiled its new Horizon MB FTIR software for the M B3000 series FTIR spectrometers. The extended software for the MB3000 laboratory spectrometers is complete with extensive health monitoring, full instrument validation for regulated...

X-Ray technologies earn gold at Pittcon: two new technologies introduced by Bruker AXS bring the power of x-rays to the benchtop.(CHROMATOGRAPHY/SPECTROSCOPY)
April 1, 2008... The 59th Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon) was held March 1--March 7 in New Orleans, La. New technologies were showcased by the 1,110 companies on the exhibition floor. Over the past 10 years, about...

Meltfit is the One: a new method of coupling capillary columns improves gas chromatography analyses.(CHROMATOGRAPHY/SPECTROSCOPY)
April 1, 2008... The Editors' Choice Silver Award at the 59th Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spetroscopy (Pittcon) in March 2008 went to a product that utilizes a new method for coupling capillary columns in gas chromatography (GC),...

SFT-2000 Supercritical Fluid Extractor.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Supercritical Fluid Technologies, Inc. introduces the SFT-2000 Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) System. This entirely new, mid-scale SFE has been designed for the needs of the research chemist and process engineer. Potential applications...

920-LC liquid chromatograph.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Varian, Inc. announces the introduction of its 920-LC liquid chromatograph. The Varian 920-LC is a fully automated, computer-controlled analytical high performance liquid chromatography system that offers fast LC capabilities, state-of-the-art...

High-throughput solution for synthetic DNA/RNA purification.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The Clarity QSP system delivers nearly impurity free, concentrated, full-length oligonucleotide sequences. Clarity QSP is offered in three cartridge formats and in 96-well plates. The 96-well plate format can be easily automated for...

Selecting the Right Power Protection for Laboratory Instrumentation: the use of an uninterruptable power system (UPS) protects sensitive laboratory equipment from power anomalies.(LABORATORY EQUIPMENT/DESIGN)
April 1, 2008... Most laboratory professionals understand that it is imperative to follow the instructions in the manufacturer's site preparation guide to avoid system malfunctions and maximize the through-put and productivity of custom-designed testing...

Generation of hydrogen via an in-house hydrogen generator: the use of an in-house hydrogen generator has myriad benefits over bottled hydrogen for hydrogenation.(LABORATORY EQUIPMENT/DESIGN)
April 1, 2008... The hydrogenation reaction, which is frequently used by chemists involved with the synthesis of compounds of pharmacological interest, involves the addition of hydrogen to an organic compound. While a number of specialized reagents have been...

TerraFlo Horizontal Laminar Flow Station.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Terra Universal's TerraFlo Horizontal Laminar Flow Station provides an economical work environment that exceeds the most stringent contamination requirements in the pharmaceutical, biotech, electronics, and semiconductor industries. Powerful...

Rockwell hardness test blocks.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Wilson Instruments, an Instron company, announces the release of their Ready Block program for Rockwell hardness test blocks. Recognizing a user's quick need for test blocks, the Ready Block program provides same day delivery for the most...

Oxylet designed for monitoring respiratory metabolism.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The Oxylet System from Panlab/ Harvard Apparatus is specially designed for monitoring respiratory metabolism in rodents. Utilizing an indirect calorimetry system, the Oxylet easily monitors C[O.sub.2] production, [O.sub.2] consumption, and...

Cycle Gard constant pressure pump control valves.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Danfoss Flomatic Corp. introduces their new Cycle Gard Constant Pressure Pump Control Valves family. The Cycle Gard Constant Pressure Pump Control Valves maintain a constant pressure and eliminates the pump from cycling. These valves feature a...

Polyurethane tubing with flexibility and durability.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... NewAge Industries now offers Superthane. Superthane offers rubber-like flexibility with the durability of plastic. Superthane withstands wear, abrasion, weathering, chemicals, fuels, and moisture while it remains flexible. The polyurethane...

An advanced benchtop SEM that's user friendly and affordable: two of the world's leading imaging equipment suppliers have joined forces to bring a new benchtop SEM into the market.(MICROSCOPY/IMAGE ANALYSIS)
April 1, 2008... NeoScope, an advanced benchtop scanning electron microscope (SEM), was introduced in March at the 2008 Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon) in New Orleans, La. It is the offspring of a joint...

Applications for desktop SEMs continue to multiply: the power of scanning electron microscopy on the benchtop enables numerous applications across industry.(MICROSCOPY/IMAGE ANALYSIS)
April 1, 2008... When FEI, Hillsboro, Ore., introduced the Phenom desktop scanning electron microscope (SEM) in 2007, many thought that the majority of users would be optical microscope users who needed higher resolution. While they have indeed accounted for a...

Digital microscope incorporates advanced technology.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The new KEYENCE VHX-600 Digital Microscope offers a large depth-of-field that is at least 20 times greater than conventional microscopes. A fast 3-D image composition mode allows the user to obtain sharp images on...

Fully-automated A1 confocal laser microscope series.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Nikon Instruments, Inc. has launched the A1 series of confocal laser point scanning systems, which integrates with the new Ti-E research inverted microscope. The fully automated confocal imaging system literally brings biological imaging to...

Automated 3-D chemical imaging combined with AFM.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WITec, specialist in high resolution optical and scanning probe microscopy, introduces the Alpha500 and AlphaT00 micros copy series for automated confocal Raman imaging and atomic force microscopy (AFM) on large...

FT-IR microscope requires no external spectrometer.(Tools of the Trade)(fourier transform infrared spectroscopy)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nicolet iN 10 FT-IR microscope, in combination with OMNIC Picta software, closes the gap between simplicity of FT-IR spectroscopy and complexity of infrared microscopy. The room-temperature detector eliminates need...

The world's first macro zoom confocal: Leica TCS LSI System.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Leica Microsystems introduces the Leica TCS LSI, the first macro zoom confocal, offering a unique combination of high-resolution imaging plus a large field 'macro' view for in vivo imaging of model organisms. The Leica TCS LSI enables...

Inverted microscopes with infinity optics.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... VanGuard Microscopes announces its 14001Ni series inverted microscopes with infinity optics, a user-friendly design, and a trinocular head that supports digital image documentation. Stage inserts give flexibility to observe biological cultures...

ICI 7320 infrared camera.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Infrared Cameras Inc. introduces the IC17320 infrared camera. The 7320 offers unmatched image sensitivity and clarity in a 320 x 240 radiometric imager. With overall dimensions roughly the size of a business card,...

MicroNano systems manufacturing--do you need your own fab?(MATERIALS SCIENCE/NANOTECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2008... A key question in the commercialization of small (and large) products is: should you buy it or make it yourself? This question is related to a few other questions about the company strategy, its technology, and its environment: Do we have the...

Picking up the pace: Pfeiffer Vacuum's updated turbo pump ups the ante by letting users do more with less.(MATERIALS SCIENCE/NANOTECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2008... Turbopumps are seldom standalone device. A high vacuum or ultra-high vacuum tern used to produce silicon-on-insulator wafers or to fill cholestric liquid crystal materials for LCDs, for instance, relies on a complex system of pumps,...

MEMS oscillators earn their stripes: for more than 50 years, quartz oscillators dominated the marketplace. Now it's silicon's turn.(MATERIALS SCIENCE/NANOTECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2008... For decades, developers pursued a dynamic duo that, in theory, looked to hold all the cards: an accurate oscillator joined to a silicon resonator. Unfortunately, only one option presented itself as a viable oscillator material-quartz--and its...

Porous and semi-porous fabrics.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Porous and semi-porous fabrics (56 Series) are Teflon PTFE coated fiberglass fabrics range from Semiporous breathable breeder cloth to 1/8", 3/16" and 1/4" porous mesh. The surface texture is visible and can be used as an embossment sheet....

Epoxy curing agents.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Air Products' new Anquamine 721 and Anquamine 731 epoxy curing agents give users the ability to use less binder, more filler, and water as a diluent, which translates to cost savings to formulators. The curing agents feature excellent adhesion...

Kaolite 2000-LI energy saving, economic insulating castable solution.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The newly developed Kaolite 2000-LI castable from Thermal Ceramics meets both the strength and thermal properties needed for high performance linings. The strength-to-density ratio of the Kaolite 2000-LI product is in the range of 11 to 12...

Burn-in and test sockets for ICs.(Tools of the Trade)(Integrated circuits)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... FIBRIL nanotubes can be used at low loadings in all the polymers typically used to make static dissipative test sockets. The nanotube filled polymers provide the necessary static decay, while maintaining a relatively high surface resistivity....

The world's tiniest nanophotonic switch: all optical on-chip networks are another step closer to becoming reality.(PHOTONICS/OPTICS)
April 1, 2008... Scientists at IBM, Yorktown Heights, N.Y., have taken another significant advance towards sending information inside a computer chip by using light pulses instead of electrons by building the world s tiniest nanophotonic switch. Its footprint...

Two new OPSLs for improved photocoagulation procedures.(Tools of the Trade)(optically pumped semiconductor lasers)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Coherent has released two new optically pumped semiconductor lasers (OPSLs) for laser photocoagulation treatment of wet-form macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Specifically, these are the OPSL 532-5, a 5...

An addition to Semrock's family of nonlinear microscopy filters.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Semrock, Inc., announces an addition to its BrightLine optical filters for multiphoton biological imaging with a unique filter optimized for second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy. This state-of-the-art short-wave-pass dichroic...

Tracking speeding photons: the Joint Quantum Institute's photonic stopwatch helps quantum experimentation move into the realm of metrology.(PHOTONICS/OPTICS)
April 1, 2008... Just like human drivers, some photons are faster than others depending on road conditions. Nearly identical materials can make a huge difference to travel time, as discovered by Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), College Park, Md., scientists who...

Sapphire wafer carriers feature thickness uniformity.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Custom sapphire wafer carriers that can be manufactured to specification with perforations and other characteristics for thinning semiconductor materials are available from Meller Optics, Inc. Meller sapphire...

Sci-Fi tractor beams now a research reality.(Tools of the Trade)
April 1, 2008... Arryx Inc., has launched the addition of the HOTkit Complete Holo-Tweezers Solution to its proprietary holographic optical trapping ("HOT") product line. The HOTkit Complete allows scientists to move beyond passive observation of microscopic...

New industrial cold processing picosecond lasers.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... A new picosecond cold processing laser-RAPID-has been introduced with up to 50 W [TEM.sub.00] average power and pulse repetition rates of up to 1 MHz, These are ideal for high quality industrial micromachining. The throughput is increased by...

RF is expanding with MIMO Technology: the fast-growing cellular market in China has driven Keithley in developing communications testing technologies.(TEST, MEASUREMENT & ANALYSIS)
April 1, 2008... Keithley Instruments, Cleveland, Ohio, recently announced a partnership with the Institute of Mobile Communications (IMC) at the Southwest Jiaotong Univ. in Chengdu, Sichuan, a major city in the southwest area of China. The partnership calls...

Zero shaping for tough tuning: using Microstar's PC-based control boards, engineers have introduced a new refinement to the venerable PI D command control.(TEST, MEASUREMENT & ANALYSIS)
April 1, 2008... PID command control is a time-honored tool used by many modern industrial facilities. These days, loop tuning setups rely on optimization software to help deliver consistent results. However, PID can sometimes perform poorly for a variety...

Controlling and measuring Ion beams in real time: researchers at CERN overcome unique and stringent test and measurement constraints using an integrated software and data acquisition system.(TEST, MEASUREMENT & ANALYSIS)
April 1, 2008... The challenge: measuring and controlling, in real time, the position of bulk components to absorb energetic particles out of the nominal beam core with high reliability and accuracy at the world's most powerful particle accelerator, the large...

Model SRPM Secure-Sense Room Pressure Monitor.(Tools of the Trade)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Setra Systems, Inc. introduces the Model SRPM (Setra Room Pressure Monitor) designed for pharmaceuticals, hospitals, semiconductors, clean rooms, research laboratories, and critical low differential pressure...

MEMS-based SS Pressure Sensor for high purity applications.(Tools of the Trade)(microelectromechanical systems, stainless steel)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... American Sensor Technologies offers the AST4900, a competitively priced, high-quality pressure sensor for use in the measurement of gases and liquids in high purity applications. Using Krystal Bond technology, these stainless steel sensors are...

VEA presents EASY.(Tools of the Trade)(Value Engineering Alliance )(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Value Engineering Alliance (VEA) announces the availability of the EASY (Embedded Application SYstem), a PC-compatible, industrial computer and machine vision implementation platform in a compact, aluminum-housed...