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Friday, 27th February 2009 (1512 views)

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a means to fold tiny materials into simple structures using nanotechnology.

According to Nanowerk News, the use of gold wires is one of the ways the scientists have discovered they can achieve the "nano origami" technique.

By embedding gold wires in materials, the team can introduce a current that reacts with a magnetic field to influence how they are folded.

It is thought that the discovery could lead to use in applications such as capacitors and motors, with faster microprocessors and better computer memory storage coming about as a result.

Tony Nichol, a mechanical engineering graduate student involved in the project, told the news source: "We've got the core components figured out and now we're just having fun with figuring out some applications."

This week it emerged that a European Union-funded report is to investigate the potential contribution that nanotechnology can make to medicine.

 

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