Good hair day: New technique grows tiny 'hairy' materials at the microscale
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 - 03:33
in Physics & Chemistry
Scientists attacked a tangled problem by developing a new technique to grow tiny "hairy" materials that assemble themselves at the microscale. It looks like the way Chia Pets grow in commercials. The key ingredient is epoxy, which is added to a mixture of hardener and solvent inside an electric cell. Then the scientists run an alternating current through the cell and watch long, twisting fibers spring up.