O primeiro LED Em Outubro de 1962, o então jovem doutor Nick Holonyak apresentava ao mundo o primeiro LED (Light-Emitting Diode), um diodo emissor de luz. Já se sabia que os diodos podiam emitir radiação na faixa do infravermelho, mas ninguém havia ainda conseguido fazê-los brilhar na faixa visível pelo olho humano. Na época, a pesquisa com semicondutores ainda era emergente e quase uma curiosidade científica, em um mundo dominado pelas válvulas termoiônicas. O primeiro transístor era um adolescente, e não tinha ainda completado 15 anos de idade. O primeiro circuito integrado vinha na turma seguinte, com apenas 14 anos.          ...

ACS Publications congratulates long time authors Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka on winning the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their studies of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).  These receptors allow cells in the body to sense and respond to outside signals and are the target for several commonly prescribed prescription drugs including beta blockers, antihistamines and antidepressants. ACS Publications also congratulates Accounts of Chemical Research author David Wineland, on the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics. Interested in more on G-protein-coupled receptors? Search ACS Publications for thousands more articles on the subject. Stay...

Uma apresentação em flash interessante sugerida pelo doutorando do Grupo de Materiais Fotônicos do IQ - UNESP, Araraquara: Robson Rosa da Silva. (currículo lattes: http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.do?id=K4232516E8...

This is the first laser spectrum from the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover, sent back from Mars on August 19, 2012. The plot shows emission lines from different elements present in the target, a rock near the rover's landing site dubbed "Coronation" . ChemCam's detectors observe light in the ultraviolet (UV), violet, visible and near-infrared ranges using three spectrometers, covering wavelengths from 240 to 850 nanometers. The light is produced when ChemCam’s laser pulse strikes a target, generating ionized gases in the form of plasma, which is then analyzed by the spectrometers and their detectors for the presence of specific elements. The detectors can...

Natural structural color materials, especially those that can undergo reversible changes, are attracting increasing interest in a wide variety of research fields. Inspired by the natural creatures, many elaborately nanostructured photonic materials with variable structural colors were developed. These materials have found important applications in switches, display devices, sensors, and so on. In this critical review, we will provide up-to-date research concerning the natural and bio-inspired photonic materials with variable structural colors. After introducing the variable structural colors in natural creatures, we will focus on the studies of artificial variable structural color photonic...

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has fired its laser for the first time on Mars. On Aug. 19th the mission's ChemCam instrument hit a fist-sized rock named "Coronation" with 30 pulses of its laser during a 10-second period. Each pulse delivers more than a million watts of power for about five one-billionths of a second. The energy from the laser creates a puff of ionized, glowing plasma. ChemCam catches the light with a telescope and analyzes it with three spectrometers for information about what elements are in the rock. The spectrometers record 6,144 different wavelengths of ultraviolet, visible and infrared light. "We got a great spectrum of Coronation -- lots of signal," said ChemCam Principal...

The upper blue-tinted image is an example of a thermal image that can be provided by a vehicle-based IR detection system. The image are samples of lenses made for low-cost far infrared detection systems made from chalcogenide glass by Fraunhofer IWM. Credit: Fraunhofer IWM. If you watched the Olympics over the past few weeks, one of the recurring advertisements was for a luxury car (Cadillac or Lexus, I believe) that featured the car’s heads-up night vision system. I’ve always thought that night vision/thermal camera systems were a nifty idea—especially after experiencing some frighteningly foggy days—but, the truth is that such an option would not be extremely high on my list...