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Complete Radio Created from a Single Carbon Nanotube

physics.berkeley.edu — A single nanotube serves as all major components of a radio: antenna, tuner, amplifier, and demodulator. The radio ’s extremely small size could enable radical new apps such as radio controlled devices in the bloodstream, or simply smaller, cheaper, and more efficient cellphones. Check out what Eric Clapton's "Layla" sounds like through the nanotube

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  • Djerrid, on 07/05/2008, -2/+111 In a normal world, like in the past, in order to create a radio you would need more than a signal periodic element to construct it. And it would need to be bigger than a few nanometers. It would also need to consist of more than a single molecule. I love living in the future.
    • theOster, on 07/06/2008, -0/+19i love the phrase "orders of magnitude" - it's what keeps me excited
    • cookingboy, on 07/06/2008, -1/+10I know, man...Apple used up the model name iPod Nano a few years too early...
    • GuitarHeroDenn, on 07/07/2008, -0/+1In my day we had to walk 15 miles in the snow uphill both ways to reach the radio shop. And back then they were big and cumbersome machines the likes you young whippersnappers can't imagine!
  • JJCDAD, on 07/06/2008, -3/+67It's science!
    • tian2992, on 07/06/2008, -0/+49It Works Bitches!
    • Jeffler, on 07/06/2008, -20/+3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________
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  • philadelphia, on 07/06/2008, -2/+45You have to love science.
  • damian7, on 07/06/2008, -3/+56RFIDs used to track single celled organisms?
    • m0laria, on 07/06/2008, -0/+11You may be joking but that would actually be a legitimate use. For instance, tracking the movement of parasites through water streams or through animals to see where they affect the body, etc. This would be an alternative to radioactive isotope marking.

      EDIT: Except I Forgot that studies are showing that carbon nanotubes are toxic to cells, as they can permeate the plasma membrane. Releasing a bunch of these into our water would be a very bad idea.
    • karmabandit, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4A few problems with that idea (sorry, technicalities suck)
      1) Radio waves have a wavelength of about 1 meter, so you'd only know where it is to a precision of about a meter. And you probably know where it is with that precision anyway.
      2) The nanotube radio needs a much larger anode and cathode to provide a bias voltage, both of which are much larger than the cell you're tracking.
      3) The possible toxicity mentioned above, though this is something that could possibly be remedied.
  • GTanaka, on 07/06/2008, -0/+16Congratulations Dr. Zettl et al. Go Cal!
  • dynelol, on 07/06/2008, -15/+4Layla is a badass song. I'm needing it on Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
  • dynelol, on 07/06/2008, -3/+20Now they can make hearing aide sized mp3 players so you can listen to them in places that would have you remove them.
    • haydesigner, on 07/06/2008, -6/+1The ability to 'hide' players has been around for many years.
      http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/24/oakley-thump-mp ...
      • dafragsta, on 07/06/2008, -0/+7There's nothing conspicuous about wearing sunglasses indoors that wouldn't draw attention to the earbuds in your ears 2" from your eyes.
      • kazukisan, on 07/06/2008, -5/+1die
      • haydesigner, on 07/06/2008, -2/+2"There's nothing conspicuous about wearing sunglasses indoors"

        I wasn't aware that being indoors was a qualifier in the original comment.
      • Fratz, on 07/06/2008, -1/+5It was implied by "places that would have you remove them."
    • overridemymind, on 07/06/2008, -3/+19Except this breakthrough has nothing to do with the way an MP3 player works. This is a reciever. All the nanotube technology does is take all the bitty little components of your average transistor radio and makes them infinitely smaller. What it does mean is smaller cellular phones, radios, anything with WIFI and the like (basically anything involving transmit-recieve capability)

      However, since an MP3 player involves completely different components, which basically include a processor, a solid-state disk or standard hard disk drive, and a digital-to-analog converter -- no transmit-recieve functions involved here. (the ipod touch being an exception, due to its WIFI capability)

      So, an earphone sized FM radio may be a possible use for this technology, an MP3 player (well, one worth half a damn, anyway) of that size is still currently impossible. In other words, this isn't the tech you're looking for.

      Cheers,
      overridemymind
      • dynelol, on 07/07/2008, -0/+1Good comment, but signing it looks REALLY arrogant.
      • overridemymind, on 07/07/2008, -0/+0Ah, good point. I really didn't consider that, I just kind of sign most things I post with whatever 'nethandle I'm using at the time. I'll remember that for the future. Cheers, man.
    • Shaman760, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1That iPod "Flea" will soon become reality.
      http://gprime.net/video.php/ipodflea
  • danielbrandt, on 07/06/2008, -16/+0Looks like a hoax to me.
    • iharbinger, on 07/06/2008, -3/+0your a hoax
    • overridemymind, on 07/06/2008, -0/+7Oh, yeah, because berkely is ALL about hoaxes when they announce a scientific breakthrough.

      Buried for not thinking before you "speak" (read: type)
  • dsmx, on 07/06/2008, -2/+101Won't the RIAA ask for royalties?
  • ohemsted, on 07/06/2008, -7/+35Last modified: Fri Nov 09 12:22:16 Pacific Standard Time 2007

    Only becomes popular when MrBabyMan posts something!
  • FelixDeluxe, on 07/06/2008, -19/+3Very, very impressive.

    Just one question though:
    Layla? Are you ***** me? Who the ***** got to pick the first song to be picked up on this thing and chose Layla?

    Sheesh.
    • cygnus2112, on 07/06/2008, -0/+14Someone with a musical taste past Vanilla Ice and Ashlee Simpson?
    • trevorh, on 07/06/2008, -1/+3I think the first song was actually "Good Vibrations" , "Layla" was just one of the first four songs that they recieved on it.
      • pyro789x, on 07/06/2008, -0/+6Was I the only one that thought it was hilariously coincidental that the first song they picked up was "good vibrations"?
      • Ramble, on 07/07/2008, -1/+2I don't think that was a coincidece bucko.
  • yuutokun, on 07/06/2008, -6/+8I want one of those implanted in my ass right now.
  • DestroyFascism, on 07/06/2008, -0/+50The CIA will love this
  • Smegzor, on 07/06/2008, -1/+10Pity they won't be able to use this in public in the UK (In case someone hears it) ;)
  • hotlatte, on 07/06/2008, -1/+11What is this news, like a year old? Technology Review had a story on this back in Februrary.
    http://www.technologyreview.com/Nanotech/20153/?a= ...
    • humbaba25, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2The link that you provided doesn't contain any A/V of the invention in action.
      • t0x2c, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Well seeing as the website we were linked to was dated Nov 07.
    • audiomodder, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1it is old though, i heard it on npr a while ago.
  • webkami, on 07/06/2008, -7/+1Why in these comments everybody is messing up with signal and singal?
  • cjhowe, on 07/06/2008, -2/+26Needs more cowbell.
  • HHP2K, on 07/06/2008, -0/+50Okay, holy *****.

    Was I just listening to a song with relatively okay clarity.. from a radio that was almost less than 1 molecule thick?

    Yes I was. Holy *****.
  • ziggygazzo, on 07/06/2008, -0/+43Its on top of the charts and number one in our hearts. You're listening to WNANO....all nano all the time.
  • Qeveren, on 07/06/2008, -0/+15I always joke that carbon nanotubes can do anything. Then something like this comes along, and they really CAN do anything. Augh! :)
  • nycmac247, on 07/06/2008, -11/+2Layla - LOL Ringo is everywhere!!!11!
  • kelpee, on 07/06/2008, -0/+7I misplace my mp3 player and cell phone because they're so small......
  • jbeardsl, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3If they were really thinking, they would have played Oingo Boingo's "Weird Science"
  • cygnus2112, on 07/06/2008, -0/+7Honey, I Shrunk the Radio!
  • s4g4n, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1someone please explain to me how they made it?
    • karmabandit, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2From the supporting information:
      http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/nalefd/supp ...

      "In the single nanotube method, a nanomanipulation platform (Nanofactory Instruments AB) operated inside a TEM is used to attach a single MWNT to the end of an etched tungsten tip. The tungsten tip, which serves as the cathode, is then positioned near another wire, which serves as the anode. The radio is then operated in-situ where it is possible to see the vibrations of the nanotube with the TEM as it receives a transmission."
  • senatorpjt, on 07/06/2008, -0/+19I love how the first thing they decided to use this for was copyright infringement.
  • waydee, on 07/06/2008, -0/+7Would love to have more details, I really struggle to get my head around how nanotubes can do stuff like this.
  • blucill33, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Freaking amazing.
  • mmilton, on 07/06/2008, -10/+2Do we want the proliferation of nanotubes if the material is as dangerous as asbestos? Nanotubes are already found in many consumer products including tennis racquets. Do the research but the government should consider regulation very quickly.

    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/281/ ...

    http://www.nanotechproject.org/
    • Hananda, on 07/06/2008, -2/+2Surprise, surprise, a fear monger. I suppose society should stop using GM crops for, uh, whatever illogical knee jerk fear the hippies have of them. The benefits that nanomaterials offer our society far outweigh the dangers that a small number of the various types of nanotubes pose in terms of lung damage.

      Besides, it's not as if we're using them as insulation, or having people breathing in large quantities of them every day as part of their job for years on end, as was the case with asbestos.
  • AaronFalloon, on 07/06/2008, -2/+1That's impressive, especially when you see radios in old films. What would my grandma say?
  • knute5, on 07/06/2008, -2/+12Even at the molecular level, Clapton is God.
  • rico169, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Ok, I get (I think) how the nanotube resonates with the FM signal. I see that the electron microsocope shows it disappearing as it "tunes in". Where does the sound come from? IE how are they turning those good vibrations into something that a human can hear? (really neat concept where the radio is just a dot at the end of the headphone cable plug)

    Thanks,
    • iota, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2I agree; I understand how the nanoradio can receive the FM transmission and vibrate but not sure exactly how they recorded the sound, unless the sound was actually recorded optically via the microscope and the vibrations measured and turned into sound.

      If the sound is coming from the nanoradio, then that is terrifying -- a "device" only a couple molecules wide is able to amplify sound to the level where our ears can hear it? Imagine the uses, just dump a bucket of these over a major city and wait while people go crazy hearing voices. Not to mention the fact that such amplification is most likely in excess of any that has ever been seen on earth with "regular" technology...
    • BoneheadFarker, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Ok...crazy conspiracy theories aside, this is just a FM receiver. As far as I know, they haven't made any components that can do something with the received signal yet. When they can make a nano-sized robot that can use this receiver, then you can instruct it do do things. Or you can take the receiver and embed it into a chip along with a bunch of other components, you'll have an entire cell phone on a chip. If you think your cell phone is small and thin compared to even 3 years ago, just wait until they figure out how to use these. Or if you really want to go down the crazy dystopian 1984 world, you can put this on a microscopic transceiver and implant it into someone's head, where you can record vital signs and emit electrical impulses that will make them docile and easy to control. But no government would ever do that, right?
  • ZippyV, on 07/06/2008, -12/+16Buried for using Quicktime.
    • chr1syr, on 07/06/2008, -5/+4Buried for not not realizing that formats are pretty much irrelevant these days, now that open source applications such as mplayer supports more formats than most people even know exist. i.e I streamed this straight from the site with no problems.
      • atchon, on 07/06/2008, -6/+1Why did you bury him for realizing that formats are irrelevant? Double negatives got to love them.
      • BoneheadFarker, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1@atchon

        But double-negatives on Digg just means -2. Or in your case, -3 so far.
    • MacEnvy, on 07/07/2008, -0/+1Better than RealPlayer.
  • AutoTom, on 07/06/2008, -3/+5burried for being 2.5 year old news
    • karmabandit, on 07/06/2008, -0/+0Nope, it's less than 1 year old. The received date on the paper is only Oct. 2, 2007. It was published in Nano Letters even later than that.
  • mojobodyfuel, on 07/06/2008, -1/+0Cool Stuff!!
  • chr1syr, on 07/06/2008, -2/+8I also think I get it (but i'm taking a guess). The article mentions resonant frequency, i.e. where the natural frequency of the nano tube matches the carrier frequency of the FM signal. You can't see the tube at resonance as this is in the region of millions of times per second. It looks like the tube is also exited with a constant electro static source. As the frequency goes slightly above or below the carrier frequency the intensity of electrons emitted by the tube varies lineally in relation to the the amount of difference. As an FM signal is carried in the difference to the carrier frequency, these linear changes in electron emissions intensity represents the audio signal. A sensor is then used to measure this and send it off as an audio signal.
    • inio, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2Sounds reasonable to me. Not sure why you got dugg down for this.
    • bentrinh, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1I have no idea what you just said, but I'm digging you up for the science.
  • dsoldier, on 07/06/2008, -0/+5Nanomachines... in the bloodstream? I know where this is going.
  • 0x68, on 07/06/2008, -9/+4MrBabyMan is one of the biggest tools on the planet and you should all stop giving a ***** about anything he posts. This article is months old and has been posted before. Stop jumping on the bandwagon and helping him violate the Digg community.
  • davidbrown2, on 07/06/2008, -2/+4Will it blend?
    • jb0nd38372, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Yes but you'd never be able to see it.
      • Issius, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Actually...it wouldn't blend. The blades on a blender are thicker than the nanotube. I'm sorry.
  • UltraDavid, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1woooo, go bears!
  • Vocifer, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1What happens if you inject many little Clapton-playing radios into Clapton?
  • agamoto, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2It's a series of tubes!
  • glenSM, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Go science go!
  • Cheeseburgers, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1tubular.
  • Glamp, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1No more embarrassing bulges while debating!
    http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/10/29 ...
  • thebasshacker, on 07/06/2008, -0/+0Seriously, is there anything a carbon nanotube can't do.
    • valkyries, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1make me dinner?
      • AboveandBeyond, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1burn anything and you will be eating carbon.
      • thebasshacker, on 07/07/2008, -0/+0Give it time, they'll be able to do that tomorrow.
  • lichmicro, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE?!!?!
  • gamemaster357, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1oh god no...metal gear's nanomachines
  • TheRealDj, on 07/07/2008, -0/+1Snake - "Otacon, these nerds think they're special... we've already had this technology since 1998"
  • nydwarf, on 07/08/2008, -0/+1Wow I didn't realize that Layla has that much static in it.
  •  

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