DNA Funtime: How to Stretch DNA and Put It Anywhere You Want (sort of)

DNA Funtime: How to Stretch DNA and Put It Anywhere You Want (sort of)

Fluid in Pictures

The beauty of fluids captured.... Surface tension at its best....

Ancient Water Clocks

 In order to maintain time in this era people used water clocks.  This was a revelation.  These early clocks were used to keep the time to maintain both customer satisfaction and maximum profit.  Like many things the Greek's invented or used like the Olympics, Democracy, Philosophy, Mechanical computer, math,  and prostitution, the water clock spread to the rest of the world.

Water clocks were an example of early innovation made in different parts of the world with China, Egypt, Babylon, India and eventually Greece utilizing them for time and astrology.   The earliest water clocks used by the Greeks were simple.  Water was filled in a bowl or a clepsydra to the top and a spout led to another bowl which counted the time in hours with markings.  The water would flow out slower when the pressure decreased so they made special markings on the receiving bowl to account for this.  This was only a timer though.  The Greeks made these simple to measure the time for defence of a court case or for example your time paid for with a prostitute.  Several physical factors made these clocks and the future water clocks not precise.

The physical phenomena of gravity, viscosity and surface tension allows for the water clock to maintain a more precise time (although not in today's standards).  The flow rate is inversely proportional to the viscosity both of which is dependent on the temperature.  The surface tension affects the meniscus on the incoming water so an hour would never be really precise at the different temperatures (for example the water would run seven times faster at 100 C than at 0 C).  The surface tension of the water would also affect the later made mechanical clocks which did not rely on a constant flow but rather added the water to another tank in drops.  So any dust, soap, change in temperature could make the clock a lot slower.    

Water Ideal Lubricant for Nanomachines

Making nanomachines?  Need a lubricant?  Try water.  Researchers in Amsterdam did!

'Researchers from the University of Amsterdam have discovered that machines just one molecule in size move far quicker if you add a 'lubricant' to their surroundings. To their surprise, water proved to be the best lubricant by far.'  The hydrogen bonding and surface tension properties of water are likely the cause.  


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-08-ideal-lubricant-nanomachines.html#jCp

Futuristic Concept Cleans Your House With Robot Flies

Futuristic Concept Cleans Your House With Robot Flies

Step 1 is important:

Mixes the water and a substance that gives a higher surface tension and a pleasant odor to the water.  This allows these 908 robotic flies to collect dirt easier on the surface of the floor or wherever.  

Kibron's instruments help to optimise this substance (soap, detergent, surfactant, polymer) to give the best surface tension for better cleaning now... and in the future....

Sequencing DNA with Surface Tension

 A new technique, known as molecular threading, now lets researchers grab onto a single gnarled strand of DNA in solution, draw it out into thin air, and neatly fix it to a substrate where it can be accessed.  Using Poly(methyl methacrylate) a thermoplastic hydrophobic material they can pull the DNA from a tiny drop like it is a string in your hand.  

Check it out here:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/165483-molecular-threading-a-powerful-tool-for-dna-sequencing

and the original article here:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0069058

Rethinking Surface Tension

A new paper uncovers the surface tension in solids.
http://phys.org/news/2013-08-rethinking-surface-tension.html