I shall call you…Mini Lamp
We love all things Nano here at the Science Center. We even devoted an entire day to the celebration of Nanotechnology. “Nanotech,” as it’s known in the science world, is actually not the study of iPods but rather the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale.
So, why are we so excited about Nanotech today? One (not so) small reason: The world’s smallest incandescent lamp.
Team leader Chris Regan, (who belongs to the California Nanosystems Institute at UCLA) and his group from the UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy have been pouring their time into researching the boundaries between quantum mechanics and thermodynamics. While they share the same science genre, these two fundamental theories of physics are like oil and water: incompatible. Or are they?
The lamp is being used to study the black-body radiation law (which is applicable to both theories), developed by Physicist Max Planck in 1900.
The filament in the lamp is made from a nanotube that’s only 100 atoms wide so when it’s off it’s invisible to the human eye. When it’s on, it appears as a tiny dot of light. Nanotubes were discovered fairly recently – in 1991.
Now, admittedly…I’m no scientist so I hope I get this right without sounding too much like a book report but here goes…
Since the incandescent lamp is less than 20 million atoms, it can be applied to both thermodynamics and quantum mechanics; that is, it’s large enough to fall under the principles of thermodynamics but also small enough to be on the molecular scale, making it a quantum-mechanical system. (who would’ve thought!)
Regan explains, “Because both the topic (black-body radiation) and the size scale (nano) are on the boundary between the two theories, we think this is a very promising system to explore. The carbon nanotube that is used as the lamp filament is ideal for their purposes because of its smallness and extraordinary temperature stability.”
Regan’s research continues so keep an eye on science news to see what else he and his team discover!
University of California – Los Angeles (2009, May 7). Physicists Create World’s Smallest Incandescent Lamp. ScienceDaily. Retrieved
Photo Credit: Image courtesy of UCLA.
